Aspiring Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Joe Ghartey, has said that the NPP is favourite to win the 2016 General Elections.

He however cautioned that, “this is not a done deal and we must work hard and unite in order to ensure that victory is ours”.

Addressing the Greater Accra Regional Executive Committee of the NPP the Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan stated, that unity is the key to victory in 2016. He wondered why there were a few people in the Party who were bent on dividing the Party.

The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament was conferring with delegates and made the point that the terminology in the party ‘them and us’ or ‘he is not one of us’ should change to all of us.

Mr. Ghartey said he was bent on creating a kinder and gentler party and said, even though he wished everyone would vote for him, he was realistic enough to recognise that this was not possible in a democratic contest.  

“We should be kinder and gentler to ourselves,” he said.

He made the point that those who were supporting other candidates should not be worried since he would never hold it against them. He urged the delegates to vote for peace.

“A united front is perhaps the most fundamental change we have to make”, he said.

The aspiring Presidential Candidate listed his track record as a true ‘blue party’ person to the Executives, beginning from 1992 when he worked as a foot soldier for the NPP and a member of the team that wrote the booked titled ‘Stolen Verdict’ for the Party after the 1992 General Elections when he was Disciplinary Committee Chairman of the Greater Accra region under the Regional Chairmanship of Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey.

He also chaired the Session of the National Conference that amended the Constitution of the NPP to expand the electoral college to the present college of over 100,000 delegates on 22^nd August 2009 at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra. He is a member of the four member Committee appointed by the National Council to review the conduct of the recent Election Petition case and make recommendations to the National Council.

The former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice said, he has always been a faithful member of the Party who has contributed in various ways, material and otherwise, to the Party since 1992.

He was accompanied by his wife, Efua Ghartey, who was a member of the Committee that reviewed the amendment of the Constitution and is currently a member of the Party’s Constitutional and Legal Committee.