Dr. Josiah Aryeh, the Interim Chairman of the newly formed National Democratic Party (NDP), appeared on Joy FM's Super Morning Show today to discuss events surrounding the 2012 elections and his own party’s prospects. Aryeh claimed that he was motivated to head the NDP after watching political parties reach out to constituents during elections only to retreat into the halls of government and out of the reach of those voters as soon as the elections were over. The NDP’s primary goals, he said, are to bridge the gap between leadership and membership by establishing a party that will remain accessible to voters even after elections and to remove personal attacks from politics, and replacing personal insults with policy debates. In short, he wants everyday people to feel as though they have a stake in their country. Speaking of specific platform items, Aryeh expressed a desire to see increased accountability at the local level by mandating that local governments publicly issue budgets outlining how they intend to spend public funds. He expects that this will make government spending easier to track and the performance of elected officials easier to assess. Another NDP priority is to increase Ghana’s focus on agriculture and recycling and reduce its reliance on imports. Aryeh also lamented the decline of parks and other urban spaces in which the youth play sports, blaming Ghana’s poor showing at the London Olympics on the death of the competitive spirit in schools and touting the centrality of exercise to young people’s well-being. When asked about Akufo-Addo’s campaign promise to integrate Senior High School into the basic education program, Aryeh said he was pleased that politicians were talking about education but doubted that such an ambitious program can be fully implemented in a single term. He cited the relatively high wages and limited availability of SHS teachers as possible obstacles. On the subject of PPP flagbearer, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom’s challenge to presidential candidates to release personal information for increased transparency and voter confidence, Aryeh remarked that personal records are important, but so are platforms and a variety of other factors. Attempting to quell recent rumours, he denied allegations that either John Jerry Rawlings or his wife Nana Konadu Rawlings was in any way involved in the NDP. He quickly added that all Ghanaians, including the Rawlingses, are welcome in his party. Asked why he expects the NDP to have a strong showing in the December polls, Aryeh expressed confidence that he can persuade voters to join his movement by illustrating the failures of the two major parties. However, he attacked accusations by some current NDC representatives that he is a disgruntled former member whose sole goal in founding the NDP is to hurt his former party by chipping away its votes. Although the NDP only received its license last week and many of its offices are not yet fully operational, Aryeh expects that the party will be up and running in a few weeks. He believes that the NDP’s prospects are good because even though the party is getting a late start in campaigning, voters and the media pay increased attention during the final months of elections. Along these lines, Dr. Aryeh shot down the suggestion that his party could merge with a major party in the lead-up to the election, saying that such a move would compromise the credibility of the NDP and its candidates.