Pollster Ben Ephson has cautioned the opposition Convention People’s Party(CPP) and the Progressive People’s Party(PPP) to open the deal for a possible collaboration with the NPP based on a lottery of its safe seats.
He insisted this was the only way for them to safeguard their interest in such collaboration taking a cue from what happened in 1996- when the CPP was disappointed with a similar alliance with the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“I’m sure PPP and CPP would have learnt some sense from 1996 how the NPP stabbed them in the back. They have fielded the running mate already so what will a so called collaboration bring the smaller parties? …Lottery is the only way you can prevent what happened in 1996,” he argued in a discussion on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.3 FM Wednesday.
In his estimation, PPP/CPP could probably assert their influence in the deal if it should prevail upon the NPP to go to congress and uphold ceding a number of its safe seats to them.
Ephson has always argued that the Dankwa-Busia-Dombo tradition cannot be trusted in any alliance.
“The NPP has a bad record of stabbing people in the back. In 1996 when the CPP took their candidate, late Mr. Arkaah and made him the running mate to President Kufuor with a concession of allowing the CPP 15 seats in the election, the NPP eventually betrayed the CPP. A case in point is Ayawaso Central, when I.C Quaye should have stepped down for Kwasi Pratt to contest, but went contesting him.”
