Presidential Debate Committee inaugurated

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday July 11, 2008
THE Presidential debate to be organized by the Institute of Economic Afffairs in October and November will not include flag-bearers who do not have representations in Parliament, Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, Chairman of the Committee to plan the debate has said.

“However, another platform will be created for the other parties and aspirants as and when they formally file their candidacy with the Electoral Commission to contest the December poll.”

With this development, only the flag-bearers of the Convention People’s Party, Nation al Democratic Congress, New Patriotic Party and the People’s National Convention are expected o debate each other in Tamale for the Northern Sector in October and Accra for the Southern Sector in November.

At the inauguration in Accra on Wednesday of an 11-member planning committee drawn from public, professional religious and civil society organisations Cardinal Turkson said “no substitute would be allowed to speak or make a presentation on behalf of the flag-bearer.”

He said “to avoid needless controversy and perceptions of bias, uniform guidelines with respect to time and other matters would be laid down well in advance of every debate.”

He said there will be two moderators for each debate and the caucus of national party chairmen will make some inputs into the final programme for the debate.

Cardinal Turkson said “there will be a ballot before the debate begins to determine which candidate answers first and seating arrangements.”

He said they are expected to answer questions from the moderators and will get the opportunity to critique each others policies and each aspirant will get three minutes to do self introduction and what he stands for.

He said the debate which is expected to last for about two and half hours will be telecast live both radio and television and each aspirant will be provided with 15 invitation cards including security defail.

At question time, Cardinal Turkson said that “in engaging in this healthy contest of ideas, the candidates submit themselves and their party manifestoes to the critical assessment and evaluation of the electorate, thereby proving that the mandate that the candidate seek are derived from the electorate.”

Mrs Jean Mensah, Administrator of the I.E.A said the selection of members of the planning committee was carefully done to ensure a successful debate.