Election Is Not All About Winning At All Cost - JOY Independent Presidential Candidate in the 2016 elections, Jacob Osei -Yeboah, says elections are not contested with the sole aim of winning, but also to contribute to consolidating democracy through a context of ideas. Mr. Yeboah, who is lay preacher and a Mechanical Engineer, is the first to appear on the well thought out GBC’s encounter with presidential candidates in this year’s election, said manifestos must address Ghana's socio-political stability and help in unifying the people. The one-on-one presidential encounter was organised by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation in collaboration with the National Commission for Civic Education, (NCCE), with supported from STAR Ghana. JOY, as he is well known, said he was not interested in strikes and noise, but rather in finding solutions to the nation’s problems. He outlined his plans for the various sections of the population, proposing a chamber in the realm of governance that would bring together all identifiable groups in the country, such as women and the disabled to make contributions to national development. He reiterated that, Ghana needs deliberate policy to empower women, using the famous Kwegyir Aggrey quote, “if you educate a man, you educate an individual but when you educate a woman, you educate a whole nation”, to buttress his point. “We need a special fund to help women. Every woman with an idea would be assisted with that fund. Her business idea would be assessed and viable ones would be assisted to succeed.” He said. Mr. Osei –Yeboah, who answered questions from a studio audience in Accra and Cape Coast, expressed concerns over the way Ghana is polarized between the two major parties, (NDC and NPP), stressing that the nation’s greatest need is creating jobs. In answer to a question over why he is not joining the two biggest parties in the country, JOY stated that he did not believe in their ideologies, he was of the opinion that the two major parties are confused in their ideologies that are outmoded. He alleged that the two parties were lying about him in their campaigns, telling the electorates that a vote for him is a wasted vote. He proposes a technical education system crafted after the German model that is more practical in nature, to enhance job creation for the youth. He is advocating collaboration with chiefs for the use of tractors for mechanized agriculture to attract the youth into the sector, indicating that irrigation through the construction of wells would be used to take care of the erratic rainfall pattern the country experiences at some times. He mentioned cassava as one of the crops to receive his attention. This he said, would be done with direct participation of chiefs who are fathers of the communities. Mr. Osei Yeboah is optimistic the approach would increase youth involvement in agriculture. On his policy on the disabled, Mr. Osei- Yeboah bemoaned the lack of accessibility for persons with disability, citing buildings like the State House, which has no accessible ways for the disabled. He said there is the need to build capacities of persons with disability for inclusive development. On sports, he said he is envisaging using sports as a unifier, and for economic development. He said when elected, he will combine education and sports. After two hours of speaking on his visions and policies, on one-on-one Presidential Encounter, there was a panel discussion. The discussants, were Dr. Kwesi Jonah, Senior Research Fellow with IDEG, Dr. .Abdullah Kuyini Mohammed Policy Analyst and Lecturer at the Political Science Department University of Ghana, Legon. Analysing the debate, Dr. Mohammed said the manifesto presentation of Independent Candidate, Jacob Osei Yeboah on GBC's one-on-on encounter lacked concrete programmes and policy guidelines to achieve them. Dr. Abdulai said Mr. Osei Yeboah failed to reveal exactly the practical procedures he has laid down to tackle and execute his developmental plans. He said Mr. Osei Yeboah also failed to give a comprehensive outline of the expertise and specialised political and economic brains he will be needing to work with in achieving his agenda. For his part, Dr. Kwasi Jonah of IDEG said, Mr. Osei Yeboah will face difficulties ruling as president since he is an independent candidate. He said Ghana's parliament is so polarised because it is filled with MP's who all have political affiliations. It will therefore, be difficult for Jacob Osei Yeboah to work in parliament because he is not aligned to any political philosophy. GBC