Member of Parliament for Mpraeso in the Eastern Region, Davis Opoku Ansah popularly called OPK is expressing concern about the proposals submitted for the amendment of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) constitution.
According to him, the proposal to have an early congress in NPP if adopted will affect the party’s plan to win the 2024 generals as it will create to power bases.
He said having a President and Presidential candidate at the same time will create confusion in terms of power centre of the party.
“How do you intend to have two masters, two clear years before the election?” he quizzes on his facebook timeline ahead of Sunday conference of the party in Kumasi.
The MP is therefore urging the party to do away with the proposal to elect Presidential candidate early, saying “Drop that proposal!”
Another aspect of the proposals the Mpraeso MP thinks it will not favour the party is the quest to increase the number of the Nasara Coordinators or extended it to the polling station.
Mr Opoku-Ansah believes there are some polling stations without Zongo, thereby getting representative as Nasara Coordinator will be difficult, hence the need to ‘Drop the proposal.’
“Then the one to increase Nasara Coordinators from a little below 300 to 38,622+ ought to be dropped. There are polling stations without Zongo, so how do you fill those areas with a Nasara Coord?” he asked.
He therefore appealed to the party to reject that aspect of the proposal by saying that “Drop that Proposal!”
The governing NPP says 38 proposals have been tabled for possible amendments to the party’s constitution. Key among them is a proposal to elect a presidential candidate two years before a major election.
Addressing the media recently, the Communications Director for the NPP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, said the party would use the upcoming National Delegates’ Conference to consider these proposals.
“All the proposals that have been forwarded will be debated and either accepted or rejected. Once accepted, everybody at the conference will know the ones that have been accepted, and then they will be made amenable to legal language and then incorporated into the Constitution,” he said.
The NPP has scheduled December 18 to December 20, 2021, to hold its national conference in Kumasi.
Ahead of the conference, the party has banned all activities associated with internal party contests, parliamentary and presidential primaries, as well as the display of paraphernalia and advocacy for aspirants.
“The Conference is dedicated to total mobilisation of the Ghanaian people since the party has demonstrated ability to mobilise the people around credible economic independence that deserves to break the eight. We have no doubt that the men and women in the forefront of the NPP can lead the charge to deliver results. Together with the nation, we will break the eight and consolidate effective governance for the benefit of the people,” Mr Buaben Asamoa said.
By V incent Kubi