Vice-President Kwasi Amissah Arthur says short people need to be carried to help them see President Mahama’s massive achievements, a humorous jab that sent supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress in absolute ecstasy.
He made the comment at a campaign event in the Eastern region Friday, when the attention of his audience had drifted to a young woman in her twenties who was ‘vertically challenged’ and was carried shoulder high by some persons in the crowd in order for her to see what was happening on the dais.
Distracted by the incident, the Vice-President paused for a while to ask why the woman had been carried. The crowd responded that it was to help the young voter get a better view of the campaign event.
Served with what appeared to be an irresistible analogy, the Vice-President told the cheering audience that short people should be carried in order for them to see the achievements of President Mahama.
The crowd burst into uncontrollable laughter.
In a campaign of high stakes, government officials have found space for humour by targeting the height of NPP Presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The Sports minister was the first to make reference to Akufo-Addo’s height after he said at the campaign launch in the Central region that the presidency is not for short people.
The reaction from the NPP was thick condemnation.
The Vice-President said the loyalty of the constituents to the NPP during elections has not been commensurate with the level of developments in the region.
He said leading figures in the party like Osafo Maafo who hail from the region have failed to develop the road network.
The NDC has vowed to split the votes in the region that has been a second stronghold for the opposition NPP.
Since 2000, the NPP has won a majority of seats in the region grabbing 18 out of 26 seats in the elections. In 2004, the NPP nearly wiped off the NDC’s presence in the region after a commanding control of 22 out of 28 seats.
The grip loosened slightly in 2012 after the NPP won 20 out of 28 seats and in 2012, the NPP won 26 seats out of 33. This was after new constituencies were created.
The NDC has launched Agenda 50/50 to share the spoils with the NPP, a target the NPP has laughed off as impossible.
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