A Civil Society Organisation, the Centre for Policy Development (CPD), has urged delegates in the various political parties to look at the larger interest of the country and not their personal interest during the selection of their various candidates.
According to the group, growth and development of every constituency and the country at large in a democratic society depend on the decisions made by party delegates, who are vested with the power to elect candidates who vie for various positions.
2020 General Election
Ahead of the 2020 general election, the two major political parties in the country have already chosen their presidential candidates with the smaller parties gearing up to choose theirs. The parties are also in the process of selecting their parliamentary candidates. The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in some Constituencies on the 24th of August, 2019 while the New Patriotic Party (NPP) would hold its primaries in their orphan constituencies on the 28th of September, 2019.
According to the Executive Director of CPD, Ismail Yahuza, in a statement, “money will always get finished within a twinkle of an eye but it takes a very long time to repair damages caused by wrong decisions”.
He said, CPD has noticed that, election times in Ghana are considered “cocoa seasons’’ for delegates, as candidates usually prefer to engage in distribution of large sums of money to influence delegates’ choices. He stated that this sometimes lead to the election of candidates with just ‘money power’ and not necessarily ‘brain power’, a situation which according to CPD accounts for the underdevelopment of the country.
They have therefore pleaded with delegates to elect candidates who are competent, up to the task and of high integrity and not elect people based on the size of their pocket. “Delegates should be mindful that whatever decisions they take could make or unmake the country.” He said.
