afrol News, 17 December - At its third national delegates congress in Kumasi, the party that led Ghana to independence in 1957 [Convention People's Party (CPP)] has addressed its looming internal tension before finally endorsing the candidature of Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom for the 2008 presidential polls.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, whose CPP attained independence for his country, ruled the post-independent Ghana until he was unseated by a 1966 military coup d'etat.

The former holder of several ministries, including the Economic Planning, Energy and Public Sector Reform has won the hearts and minds of the congress delegates mainly because of his long-standing quests to stick to the ideals of Dr. Nkrumah. He polled 1,067 votes.

In a tense internal campaign, the six contestants vigorously struggle for the leadership, believing that the CPP was "on the move to the Castle" [the seat of government].

Political leaks disclosed that Ghana's two major political parties, New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress, are wooing the CPP to make an alliance in the 2008 general elections that is likely to go for a runoff.

The CPP was formed in 1949 during the struggle for independence by Ghana’s first president Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The party was seen as a vehicle of emancipation for the West African nation and the whole of Africa, with Ghana's independence signalling a wind of change in the continent.

Its members see it as a party that embraces people of all walks of life - farmers, fishermen, the rural folks, the rich and the poor alike.

The junta could not stop at dislodging the party from power, it went ahead to ban it as well. The ban was in force until June 2000 when the Supreme Court sanctioned its legality.

The party is committed to the ideas and ideals of Nkrumah and hold the belief that those ideals are still relevant to Ghana.

By Sulayman Makalo in Accra, Ghana

© afrol News

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