The 2012 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says the African Union must move away from granting automatic membership to African countries solely based on geography but rather on the strict adherence to certain fundamental democratic principles. These democratic principles that member countries need to demonstrate, according to Nana Addo, include a commitment to strengthening and protecting the institutions and culture of democratic governance; respecting human rights, religious freedom, and the rights of the individual and minorities; building functioning market economies and facilitating the free movements of people, knowledge, goods and services across member states. The NPP flagbearer made this known Wednesday, when he delivered the 2012 Oppenheimer Lecture on the theme ‘The future of democracy in Africa and the Arab Spring’, organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. According to the NPP flagbearer, the example of the European Union where countries must satisfy certain economic and political conditions, often referred to as the ‘Copenhagen criteria’, before membership into the union is granted must be a guiding principle for the African Union. “The European Union’s strict rules for membership helped pull Eastern European nations through their post-Soviet transitions, and this should serve as an example to us”, Nana Akufo-Addo said. It was imperative, according to Nana Addo, for the African Union to reform and revamp itself so as to rise to the challenge of social and economic transformation of the African continent as well as making itself relevant in the quest to “build a new Africa that is neither pawn nor victim.” “Africa’s small countries will continue to struggle to go it alone, but the accelerated economic integration of committed nations can serve as the model for others, breathe new life into the AU, and deliver the benefits of African integration to the doorsteps of the African peoples,” the NPP flagbearer added. Nana Akufo-Addo maintained that a majority of Africans are in favour of democratic rule and have, in high numbers. rejected one-party rule, military rule and strongman rule. To this end, the NPP flagbearer stated that recent efforts to undermine the democratic process in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal were indeed troubling, and urged African leaders and institutions to strongly speak against “such retrogressive developments”. Nana Addo also took a swipe at what he described as the “impotence” of the AU in the face of the crises that erupted in Libya and Cote d’Ivoire, advocating for a New African security architecture to be rebuilt urgently. The NPP flagbearer was accompanied by National Chairman, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey; Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, MP for Kwadaso; Herbert Krapa, Press Aide; Mathew kyeremeh, NPP UK Secretary; Michael Yaw Sarpong, NPP UK Communications Director; and Veronica Hemming, NPP UK Women’s organizer. NPP Communications Directorate Email: nppdcom@gmail.com