DPP Elects Ward-Brew

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, 19 May 2008
THE Democratic Peoples’ Party (DPP), on Saturday elected Thomas Nuako Ward-Brew, 66, a legal practitioner, as its flag-bearer for the December general election.

This is the third time the DPP will be making the effort to field a presidential candidate.

The party was unsuccessful in fielding a presidential candidate in both the 2000 and 2004 general elections.

In 2000, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) placed a court injunction on the DPP candidate, while in 2004, the Electoral Commission, disqualified its candidate for being late in filing his nomination.

The DPP which has been in existence since the promulgation of the Fourth Republican Constitution, went into an alliance with the National Democratic Congress
(NDC), the National Convention Party (NCP) led by the late Kwaw Nkensen Arkaah, former Vice President, as well as the Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE) party to contest the 1992 election.

In 1996, the DPP again joined forces with the NDC which won the election.

At the Congress on Saturday, attended by delegates from across the country, the party also elected unopposed a 15-member national executive committee.

Three people; Mr T.N. Ward Brew who is the leader of the Party, Albert Eshun, 39, a tutor at Mpraeso Secondary School, and Lovia Amponsah, 51, popularly known as ‘Dormaa Yaa Asantewaa’, from Wamfie in the Brong-Ahafo Region, contested for the flag-bearership.

However, just as voting was to commence at 2.15 p.m., Ms Amponsah withdrew from the contest, making the race a straight fight between Mr Ward-Brew and Mr Eshun.

Mr Ward-Brew polled 266 votes, representing 89.86 per cent of the total valid votes of 300, to beat Mr Eshun who had 30, representing 10.14 per cent.

Four ballots were rejected.

Just after the Electoral Commission official, who supervised the exercise, declared Mr Ward-Brew the winner, a number of the delegates showed their appreciation and support for the newly elected flag-bearer, with shouts of "Osama", "Father Christmas", "Abodwese" in apparent reference to his grey bushy beard.

In his victory speech, Mr Ward Brew who automatically becomes the chairman of the party as spelt out in the party’s constitution, said Ghana is still-under developed because of structural defects and behavioural shortcomings of the current and previous governments.

He said, "In Ghana, instead of going forward in development, we appear to be going backwards due to the absence of the much needed reforms in economic, political, cultural, sociological and psychological spheres".

Mr Ward-Brew further said the time had come for all stakeholders to come together to re-design the nation’s development strategies to ensure accelerated growth.

He also said that ethnic based politics is polarising the country’s political landscape saying "this is not in the interest of the nation. We should all be reminded of what happened recently in Kenya where political emphasis was an ethnicity".

He urged all politicians to conduct this year’s campaign with decorum, adding "we should avoid attacks on personalities and groups of people but rather concentrate on issues".

He said a DPP administration will introduce a policy where the unemployed will receive benefits from the government, adding, "this is a powerful impetus for development. It puts money in people’s pocket and recycles the economy".

Members of the national executive include G.M. Tettey, first Vice chairman, Ekow Bentil, second vice chairman, Francis Smith, financial secretary, Mohammad Salisu Sulaimana, general secretary and Nii Otu Otoo, deputy general secretary.

The rest are Kojo Rockson, national organiser, Kenneth Dadzie, deputy national organiser, Eunice Banson, national women’s organiser, Mathais Boateng, youth organiser, Frank Tandoh, treasurer, Evans Ofori Mensah, press secretary and Francis Smith, chairman of the finance committee.