AMBASSADOR MEETS PNC CANDIDATE EDWARD MAHAMA

UNCLAS ACCRA 001477 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM GH SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS PNC CANDIDATE EDWARD MAHAMA ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Ambassador Teitelbaum discussed the up coming election with People's National Convention (PNC) presidential candidate Dr. Edward Mahama. Mahama is making his fourth run for president as the PNC's candidate, although he has never received over three percent of the national vote. Mahama lamented the lack of media attention he receives, and how the power of incumbency works to the benefit of the ruling party. He also described organizational problems within the PNC. The PNC won four seats in parliament in the 2004 election, and draws most of its support in Ghana's Upper East and Upper West Regions. Ambassador Teitelbaum used the meeting to stress that the U.S. was neutral in the election and looked forward to working positively with a new government, so long as the polling reflected the will of the Ghanaian people. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Dr. Mahama met Ambassador Teitelbaum and POLOFF in Mahama's home in a suburb of Accra. Mahama is a physician, while his wife runs a small pharmacy out of their garage. He lived in Chicago for fifteen years, and quipped that this could be Chicago's year to produce two presidents. His four children are U.S. citizens; ONE serves in the U.S. Navy. ¶3. (SBU) Mahama noted that Ghanaians want change, and noted that conflicts occur when people become frustrated with the pace of change. Mahama said that the NPP government had an interest in "rigging" the election. As an example, he said that he typically gets thirty seconds worth of coverage on GTV's evening news, while the NPP vice-presidential candidate gets five minutes. (Note: GTV is the government owned channel. End Note.). He believes that the government owned Daily Graphic newspaper had pulled its reporter from covering his campaign. (Note: The Daily Graphic Wednesday carried a a quarter page article quoting Dr. Mahama, although its coverage of the PNC is typically less than for the two leading parties. End Note.). He mentioned that he had received, by accident, a text message from a NPP operative saying that the party would not allow a run-off election. Ambassador Teitelbaum noted that civil society groups had consistently been calling for a peaceful election, to which Mahama rejoined that "they have seen the signs." Mahama emphasized that he could not be part of violence, and that of the four major party candidates for president, he has integrity, while the others had amassed wealth while holding government office. Ambassador Teitelbaum stressed that the U.S. was neutral in the election, and that we would work positively with the next government, so long as the election was seen as reflecting the will of the Ghanaian people. ¶4. (SBU) Asked about the role of the Electoral Commission, Mahama said that "their work is suspect," noting problems with the voter registry. The candidate said that his party needed money to support polling agents, who staff polling stations to prevent fraud. He seemed surprised when told that the EC would be offering training to polling agents this week, as if the message had not reached him through party officials who liaise with the EC. He lamented the quality of the PNC's polling agents, some of whom, he said, had accepted bribes from other parties, and some of whom were illiterate. Pointing again to the power of incumbency, he said that the NPP was able to use teachers and civil servants as polling agents. ¶5. (SBU) Comment. Dr. Mahama and the PNC are unlikely to see an increase in support this election, either in the presidential or parliamentary elections. The party's base is in the sparsely populated northern regions of Ghana, where in 2004 it was unable to win more than 12% of the presidential ballots. Together with the other Nkrumahist party, the healthier Convention Peoples' Party (CPP),the PNC could win enough votes force a run-off in the presidential election. End Comment. TEITELBAUM