In the wake of the increasing disturbing phenomenon of abusive political language, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it has decided to focus its campaign for the 2012 elections on issues by comparing its track record with that of its opponents. “Our effort to ensure a positive campaign does not necessarily mean we will not scrutinise or criticise our opponent’s political record and personal character. Character, because even the Bible says a man’s gift will bring him before kings, but what will maintain him before kings is character,” Mr Richard Quashigah, the NDC Propaganda Secretary has assured. Addressing constituency Propaganda Secretaries in the Greater Accra Region at a workshop in Accra on Saturday, he further assured the electorate that “what we will not do or engage in is unsubstantiated personal attacks, name calling or disseminate misleading or false information about our opponents”. The 27 constituency propaganda secretaries were at the Local Government Studies campuses in Adenta to be schooled about the need to focus the NDC’s campaign on issues and how to get feedback from the people to be included in policy formation and those that needed urgent attention were addressed. Mr Quashigah said the NDC upon sober reflection was convinced that the use of unsubstantiated attacks and insults, which were the stock in trade of their opponents would not win the needed votes to retain power, “more so, when we cannot match our political competitors when it comes to outright fabrications and insults.” He added that the NDC was aware that the NPP’s campaign was becoming desperately gloomy and they would want to continue to employ a strategy of falsehood to try to undermine President J.E.A. Mills' credibility because they believe that going on the attack with smear campaigns were the most effective strategy to neutralise genuine and constructive attacks from the NDC. He told the constituency propaganda secretaries that a genuine propagandist must be a true artist, a master of the popular soul, using it as an instrument to express genuine political will, adding that good propaganda did not need to lie and should also respect the truth. Mr Quashigah noted that there was every indication that the Ghanaian voter had become savvy such that intemperate language and combative modes did not work anymore, because insulting or abusive political campaigns have reached their saturation points and that voters tended to distrust not only politics of fabrication, but also adversarial politics. Opening the two-day workshop, the Chairman for the programme, Mr Jacob Akron urged the NDC members to up their game and realise that the media terrain was not favourable to the NDC. According to him, most of the media houses, journalists and hosts of radio and TV programmes were hostile to the NDC, but favoured the NPP, adding that “with TV stations, 80 per cent of hosts are inclined towards the NPP, adding that they ask the NDC panel members probing questions and did not even allow them to answer.” Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana