Make Campaigns Issue-Oriented - Prez Tells Political Parties

President Kufuor has cautioned political parties to make their campaigns issue-oriented instead of using abusive language. He said they should focus on what would win votes for them rather than the use of threats, abuse and projecting their opponents in bad light. He faulted the situation where it was increasingly becoming evident that some preferred the marketing strategy of presenting their opponents in the worst possible light. "I dare say they might do better if they focused more on what they would do differently if they received the people's mandate." The President disabused the minds of the public of any suspicions about the transparency and fairness of the December polls, pointing out that the country's electoral arrangements currently in place had been put to test four times already since 1992, with outcomes that had been endorsed as reflecting the true wishes of the people. "Each election has thrown light on areas that need attention. Thus we have progressed from opaque to transparent ballot boxes and from Voter Identification (10) Cards with no pictures to ones that have pictures," he pointed out. The President touched on almost every conceivable subject of national importance in his 16-page-address of one hour 35 minutes. These included education, agriculture, health, industry, law enforcement, security, sports, foreign relations, gender and transportation, among several others. The President was extremely happy that the independence of the judiciary and the Electoral Commission, as established by the Constitution, had not been tampered with. "When there is so much going on for our electoral processes, there is no reason to contemplate extra measures for resolving imaginary scenarios in the coming elections. Far from being at war, we are only going into elections, and not for the first time," he stated. " "Through this august House, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all our compatriots for the opportunity given me to serve as the country's President for two terms. I want to thank especially my favourite political party, the New Patriotic Party, on whose ticket I stood, whose vision has been my source of inspiration” the President Stated.