Mr Boadu (middle) flanked by the Sammi Awuku (left), National Organiser and Evans Nimako(right), director of elections
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has directed its relevant structures to immediately suspend party members who have been invoking curses on the party leadership and, in particular, members of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The General Secretary of the party, John Boadu, who described the behaviour of such party members as “alien” and “worrying”, said the party is “completely appalled by such gross misconduct.”
“Accordingly, the party is instructing the respective constituency executives in the constituencies where this unfortunate incident happened to immediately suspend all those involved in this awkward behaviour while instituting appropriate disciplinary actions against them in line with Article 3 and 4 of the Party Constitution,” Mr Boadu said.
The NPP General Secretary said this during a press conference to outline the modalities and guidelines for the party’s upcoming parliamentary primaries.
Curses
Some supporters of the party, particularly in areas such as Gomoa Dominase in the Gomoa East District of the Central Region, Asokwa, Kwabre East and Juaben constituencies, all in the Ashanti Region, over the weekend, invoked curses on the party leadership and the National Parliamentary Vetting Committee (NPVC). Their beef was that their preferred candidates had allegedly been disqualified by the party’s NEC from contesting in the upcoming primaries.
In the Juaben constituency, the angry supporters invoked the curses following the alleged disqualification of one Francis Owusu-Akyaw, a mining consultant, to allow the incumbent MP for the area, Amma Pomaa Boateng, to go unopposed.
In the Asokwa constituency, the party supporters claimed they had received information that the only aspirant contesting the incumbent MP for the area, Samuel Binfoh, has allegedly been disqualified by the national executives.
The story in the Gomoa East was not different as the party supporters claimed they had information about the disqualification of one Richard Panford, an aspirant contesting the sitting MP for the area, Kojo Asemanyi.
Before the party’s vetting in March, some supporters in the Atiwa East constituency also invoked curses on the party leadership over suspicion of disqualification of their preferred candidates.
Such “crude behaviour”, according to Mr Boadu, is alien to the ideals and ideas of the governing party, hence the directive for the suspension.
“Constituency officers have one week to carry out this order, failure of which we shall fish out these individuals and suspend them ourselves,” Mr Boadu added.
Modalities for primaries
Mr Boadu also outlined the modalities for the party’s parliamentary primaries in constituencies with sitting MPs.
He stated that, unlike previous primaries, the election of parliamentary candidates will be done on electoral area basis to ensure that the party adheres to the social distancing protocols, announced by the government to check the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
He added that the party would also provide nose masks to all delegates, as well as make available alcohol based hand sanitisers, as part of the safety measures.
Mr Boadu said the primaries would be supervised by the Electoral Commission, with support from the respective National Parliamentary Vetting Committees.
He explained: “The constituency album, which has been broken down into Electoral Area Album, shall be used to identify all delegates who are eligible to vote in their respective Electoral Areas.”
He disclosed that voting will begin at 7:00 am on the day of the primaries, and close at 1:00 pm.
The NPP chief scribe also emphasised that counting of the ballot shall not be done at any electoral area, unless it is 1:00 pm on the day.
“Counting of ballot will be done immediately after the close of polls at each Electoral Area Polling Centre and at the Constituency Secretariat Polling Centre,” he added.
He further enumerated some voting offences, code of conduct for candidates and other regulations guiding the election.
Suspension of primaries
The NPP General Secretary further disclosed that elections in three constituencies have been suspended. They are the Kwadaso constituency in the Ashanti Region; Gushegu constituency in the Northern Region; and the Dormaa Central constituency in the Bono Region.
The party further added that the National Council has resolved to acclaim the sole candidate for the presidential primaries, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, adding that the party would soon announce a date for the acclamation.
Source: Daily Statesman
