Mr Kofi Armah Amenlemah
Information DAILY GUIDE has gathered indicates some National and Western Regional Executives of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) are making frantic moves to stop an aggrieved member of the party in the Jomoro constituency of the region from carrying out his threat to contest the seat as an independent candidate in this year’s general elections.
The fear of the NDC is that it might lose the seat if it is unable to calm down the aggrieved member, Leo Kofi Armah Amenlemah to back down on his threat to contest as an independent candidate.
The decision by the aggrieved NDC member to contest the Jomoro seat as an independent candidate was borne out of alleged irregularities that occurred during the NDC parliamentary primary in the constituency in November last year, which saw one Thomas Elleamo Yankey emerge as winner.
Mr Amenlemah who contested the primary with Yankey alleged that the party’s constituency poll was rigged in favour of Thomas Yankey, who was declared winner by the Electoral Commission.
DAILY GUIDE learnt that though the aggrieved aspirant appropriately tabled the irregularities before the regional executives of the party with the hope that the party would address them before the day of the contest, the executives allegedly failed to do so.
Information available to this paper indicates that Mr Amenlemah has the full backing of majority of the youth in the NDC and welcomed the move for him to contest the seat as an independent candidate.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, Mr Amenlemah confirmed the story and indicated that indeed some kingpins of the NDC at both national and regional levels were trying to persuade him to rescind his decision to contest the seat as an independent candidate “but I will not give in”.
However, the constituency chairman of the NDC Gideon Konibah had noted that Mr Amenlemah’s decision to contest the seat as an independent candidate was contrary to the party’s constitution and regulations.
He insisted that the primary was not rigged in favour of any candidate.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi