Vote for an independent candidate — JOY
If voting for the two bigger political parties in the country will continue to polarise the country and slow down development, then it is time to emulate Benin by giving the nod to an independent candidate who represents a unifying force for Ghana’s accelerated development, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah has appealed.
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The only independent candidate in the 2016 polls, popularly known as JOY, explained that the Beninese, realising the impact of political governance on national development and tranquility decided on two occasions to give the nod to an independent candidate, Mr Thomas Yayi Boni in 2006.
“When Boni set up a political party after his two terms in office, the people rejected his party in 2016 and voted for another independent candidate, Mr Patrice Talon, in April this year,” he said.
Mr Yeboah said over the years, Ghana had experienced the change from one political party to the other but that had not accelerated development in the country or helped to unite the country, but rather polarised the country on the basis of political ideologies and ethnicity.
At the Accra Road congregation of the Church of Christ last Sunday, he said polarisation was having a serious toll on national development, and therefore it was time for real change, change for peace and development, which he represented as an independent candidate.
Mr Yeboah has been moving with an entourage, including his running mate Mr Daniel Wilson Torto and the queen mother for the Ekumfi Ansaman Traditional Area, Nana Enimfua III.
Mr Yeboah, called on the electorate to vote massively for him to leverage the needed development the country had desired over the years through the power of unity and all inclusiveness.
He said without unity, it was impossible for any meaningful development to be achieved and that it had become obvious that the political parties were unable to unite the country because they kept fighting for their parochial interest instead of the national interest.
“I do not believe in the party system because I represent a unifying force that is capable of bringing together all political parties, religious and traditional leaders and other state institutions to form a united force as a government to leverage the needed development and tranquility the country deserves and desires,” he said.
Christians must lead peace revolution
Mr Yeboah said although he was optimistic of winning the 2016 polls, his major aim in the race was not to just win but to lead a peace revolution that would heal the polarisation caused by the wrong implementation of multi-party democracy.
He called on all, particularly Christians, to lead that peace and unity revolution by seeking the face of God before making a decision at the polls.
He said it was rather unfortunate that Christians, whom the Bible described as the salt of the world and expected to season the world and make right the wrongs in the society, had bought into the lies of partisan politics and were contributing to the destruction of the country.
“Christians today have brought the Cross of Jesus under politics instead of raising the cross to enable it draw all men to it as explained in the Holy Bible,” he said.
However, he said, it was not too late for Christians to make the change by leading a peace revolution to ensure that the electorate voted for peace, unity, love and development.
Jalem Chapel International
The independent presidential candidate carried the same message to the Jalem Chapel International at Kasoa, where he further admonished the electorate to defy all political affiliations and take a bold step of faith by voting for peace and development.
He appealed to the electorate to seek God’s direction as to who to vote for and assess objectively all the candidates and their messages and vote truthfully for the one who stood for peace, unity and development.
“It is time for us to do issue-based voting rather than voting because we belong to some political party, as has been the practice of majority of electorate in the past but has brought no meaningful change to the country,” he said.