A Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Ransford Gyampo has cautioned the two major political parties in the country not to bank their hopes on slogans for victory in the December polls. He said even though catchy slogan makes it easier for the electorate to identify with a particular political party, it does not constituent the determining factor for a landslide victory in 2012. The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) are both laying claims to the slogan “People Matter, You matter” five months to the elections. While the NDC claims the slogan is its bonafide property based on the social democratic credentials of the party, the NPP which has accused the ruling party of plagiarism maintained, that the slogan has been the title of its Manifesto since 2011. However, commenting on the issue on Asempa FM’s flagship political programme Ekosii Sen Monday, Ransford Gyampo indicated that in a developing country like Ghana, the electorate are not influenced by campaign slogans but rather the policies and programmes of a political party that would improve their lives. He noted that the slogans summarise the ideologies of political parties and thus make it easier for the electorate to make a choice but not a panacea for an election victory. “Party slogans summarise everything that a manifesto tends to represent and it becomes easy for people to accept and identify a political party with” he added. The Political Science Lecturer who is also a fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said the brawl for a slogan is needless since according to him, most Ghanaians have made up their minds on which party to vote for in December. Mr. Gyampo hinted that the IEA has initiated an investigation into the matter and any political party found culpable would be sanctioned. In a related development, Mr. Gyampo bemoaned the choice of August 25 by both the NDC and NPP to launch their manifesto; a development he says will have grave consequences on the electorate. “You want Ghanaians to be part of what you are doing but if they [NDC/NPP] launch their manifestos on the same day, people would be confused”. He said if both parties decide to launch their manifesto on the said date, it would be in contravention of the political parties code of conduct. Ransford Gyampo said the IEA would dialogue with the two parties to find an amicable solution to the problem.