GCPP accuses IEA of discrimination

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday July 16,2008
The Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) has declared its intention to join the suit in which the Democratic Peoples’ Party (DPP) is taking the Institute of Economic Affairs to court for an alleged discrimination.

In the run up to Election 2008, the IEA has been organizing series of debates for flag-bearers of only four political parties to share their vision fund policies with the public.

The IEA’s reason for dealing with the four political parties is that, the parties: New Patriotic Party, National Democratic Congress, Convention Peoples’ Party and the Peoples’ National Convention are the only parties in the country with representations in parliament.

But Mr Dan Lartey leader and founder of the GCPP says “what the IEA is doing is against our constitution.”

He was speaking in Accra on Monday after he had led a team pay a courtesy call on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Tawiah III and his elders at the Ga Mantse Palace.

He used the occasion to also introduce himself as the flag-bearer of the GCPP for the December poll.

He claimed that once the IEA is using the Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP) to solicit funds from the Netherlands to organise programmes for the political parties, the institute needed to involve all registered political parties in its activities.

Mr Dan Lartey said “the IEA is creating the impression that there they are the only body or institution in the country that can influence the political process and by so doing they have allowed foreign influence in our political landscape.”

He said “the IEA’s contention that only parties with representation in parliament will be engaged in their activities cannot be right and that is why we are partnering the DPP to institute legal action against the institute.

“I have asked my lawyers to join the suit and it will be heard any moment from now.”