At 82, Uncle Dan Lartey, presidential candidate, leader, founder and (chairman) of the Great Consolidated Popular Party is not getting too popular with Elections 2008. At least he is officially off the ballot papers for the December polls, which are some 45 days away. But he is keen in getting things right, including getting his name on the ballot paper even though the Electoral Commission of Ghana has closed the door on him and others who the EC adjudged to have defaulted in their documentation in the exercise. In the immediate, he has asked his lawyers to work on the case and dare the EC in court to prove which Ghanaian or international law permits Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, EC Chairman, to disqualify him in the national exercise. On Thursday, Mr. Dan Lartey was guest of Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah’s Super Morning Show on Joy FM, and the encounter may have left many with a lot of admiration for the zeal of the ageing politician and his candid desire to see a better Ghana. But what the encounter also did was to cast a huge dampener on the credibility of Dan Lartey’s very credentials for the very job he so passionately seeks and promises to pursue as long as his ‘bones are straight.’ He left too many questions unanswered, threatened to walk out of the programme if his host was going to pursue a certain line of questioning, and will not discuss his running mate or what he brings to his ticket. Sounding also temperamental, Dan Lartey will not even entertain any phone-in questions, and he really meant his words when about a month ago he proposed his host on the programme for the slot of running mate. Kojo: You say you are taking the EC to court? Dan Lartey: Yes, because I have a right to vote and a right to be voted. Kojo: But your right to be voted for doesn’t mean you can do things at your own pleasure. The EC says on a particular day and particular time you should have filed and paid on a particular… Dan Lartey: And the particular day I was there, on the 17th I was there, on the 17th of October and I paid my 50 million and I submitted my papers and they say there is some errors in the paper. And the paper can be corrected. Kojo: What were the errors? Dan Lartey: Well I don’t know what the errors were. Kojo: Did they explain what the errors were to you? Dan Lartey: They didn’t explain it. Kojo: So they just told you that because of errors you cannot participate in the elections… Dan Lartey: …which I think is unfair. Kojo: So where is your money now? Dan Lartey: What is it? Kojo: Where is your money now? Dan Lartey: The money has been given to me and is in my custody now. It’s made as a bank draft to the Electoral Commission and is still there, fifty million. Kojo: We were told that you were supposed to get signatories from all over the country, you didn’t have all those signatories? Dan Lartey: Well, I don’t know, I know the signatories have gone, that was the papers which was supposed to be done and it was done. Kojo: Everything was in order? Dan Lartey: Everything was in order and if the Electoral Commission says there is some errors in it, then the errors should be corrected. You don’t reject. Kojo: But you should bring the document in good standing by the time they are looking for… Dan Lartey: In good standing or not, I brought it. Kojo: But there were errors… Dan Lartey: But that is not the question. Now if you are going to ask me these questions then I’ll rather want to leave because… Don’t ask me these questions which…Now you gave the time, I was there at three o’clock and I paid the fifty million and the papers were given to you and you said there were some errors in the papers and so…is it fair to reject it? … Kojo: You think that it is deliberate or it’s just…? Dan Lartey: …I think it is deliberate attempt to get Dan Lartey out of the … Kojo: Why would the EC do that, deliberately get you out? Dan Lartey: I don’t know why he should do it but he’s done it and so the courts would have to decide. Dan Lartey said he had tried to meet the EC chairman for an amicable settlement but the latter insisted that the courts would be the best option and so he would meet him there. Dan Lartey also insisted he had executed an effective campaign and if the polls were to be conducted today, he would win the presidency. Kojo: What is the status of your campaign, have you been on the campaign trail? Dan Lartey: Look my campaign is already done. You can’t run a nation, you can’t do this thing without planning it. We have planned our win and we’ve planned it all over the place. Kojo: Have you executed it? Dan Lartey: It’s all over the place. We know that we have the men to vote and today, if we go to the polls today, I’ll win. Kojo: You’ll win? Dan Lartey: Exactly, because I’ve worked. Kojo: But I haven’t seen you at any rally, I haven’t seen you… Dan Lartey: Attending rallies does not mean you are going to win. Kojo: Where have you been, Uncle Dan? Dan Lartey: I’ve gone to the grassroots, I’ve done all what I could do… Kojo: Where? Give me specifics… Dan Lartey: All over the country and so it’s not one place where, where, I’ve done it all over the country…230 constituencies.