5 PETITION NPP NEC (PAGE 15)

FIVE persons in the Tain Constituency, calling themselves Zonal Polling Station chairmen of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Brong Ahafo Region, have petitioned the National Executive of the party over the acclamation of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr Joe Danquah, as the party’s candidate for the December general election.
“We totally reject the incumbent MP as our parliamentary candidate for the dubious manner he was chosen,” they stated.
In a resolution signed by Messrs Addae Boakye Kwaku, Basheru Hassan, Opoku David and R.Y. Serebour and addressed to the National Chairman of the NPP, the chairmen explained that on May 3, 2008, they had petitioned the National Executive of the party, with copies to both the regional and constituency executives to investigate and possibly settle a major controversy over the conduct of primaries to elect a parliamentary candidate for the constituency.
Unfortunately, the chairmen pointed out that they did not receive any response to their petition and that there was also no attempt to resolve the controversy they complained about.
“However, to our surprise, on June 4, 2008, a team, led by Mr Kofi Darko, the Brong Ahafo Regional Organiser of the party, was said to have organised the constituency primary, at which the incumbent MP was purported to have been acclaimed as the parliamentary candidate for the Tain Constituency,” they said.
According to them, theyhad also made a copy available to the regional and the constituency chairmen, “Indeed, as the democrats and people of principle, we cannot allow this mockery of democracy to pass unchallenged. We, therefore, state that we do not recognise the forceful display of arbitrariness which occurred on June 4, 2008”.
They stressed that they were worried about what was going on in the constituency, and cautioned that the earlier a solution was found to the issues that had surrounded the primaries, the better it would be for the fortunes of the party, adding “we strongly advise that the National Executive send a team to conduct proper and democratic elections/primaries to bring peace and unity within the party”.







“We conclude by warning that our patience and that of a lot more of our supporters and sympathisers are running out. If you fail to act as suggested a week after receipt of this petition, we shall advise ourselves accordingly and the consequences shall not be in anybody’s interest,” they warned.
When the regional office of the NPP in Sunyani was contacted, Mr Kusi, the Secretary, explained that the incumbent MP was acclaimed, because one Mr Richard Obour, who also aspired as a candidate, was disqualified when the two were vetted, based on the party’s constitution, rules and regulations governing vetting and the National Constitution.
Firstly, he said Mr Obour was disqualified because he had not, as he put it, nurtured the constituency which he wanted to lead for two or more years as required. Secondly, he did not know the terrain well, though he was a native of the area.
The secretary pointed out that after the vetting, the regional chairman invited Mr Obour to convince him to step down, because he had been disqualified, and that the regional executive did not want to write officially to him as that had been the party’s practice.
However, he said Mr Obour declined to step down and rather decided to seek redress from the High Court in Sunyani, after he had argued that the regional executive did not communicate to him in writing.
Mr Kusi further explained that the High Court later struck out the case after hearing the arguments, which meant that the party could go ahead on its process to select a candidate, adding that in such a case, Mr Danquah had been declared unopposed.
Therefore, he said, the Regional Organiser, Mr Darko was dispatched to the constituency to supervise the acclamation of Mr Danquah at a ceremony that was also supervised by the Electoral Commission in the district, where the MP was declared unopposed.
“We even had grounds to acclaim Mr Joe Danquah because as at the time and even now Mr Obour ceased to be a member of the party, since he took the party to court, which was in contravention with the party’s constitution,” he argued.