Ashanti NDC Agenda Exposed

NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah

The hidden agenda of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to increase its parliamentary seats in the Ashanti region in the forthcoming general elections has been exposed.

The Ashanti region is noted to be the stronghold of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), as the party currently holds 36 seats out of 39 in the region as against the NDC's three seats namely Asawase, New Edubiase and Ejura/Sekyedumase.

In view of this, the ruling party, upon assumption of office, promised to do everything possible to increase its seats in the region in order to retain power in 2012.

In the 2008 elections, the ruling party won 24 percent of the total votes cast in the region.

Activists of the party and political pundits have argued that the ruling party could retain power if it wins 30 percent of the total votes cast in the region.

In pursuit of this agenda, the government, under the guise of adhering to subsection (1) of Section 3 of the Local Government Law, (Act 462, 1993), created new districts out of which constituencies would be created.

Since the ruling party intends to increase its seats across the country, the NDC government created more districts in regions perceived to be its strongholds.

The government created the Asokore/Mampong municipality where the initial demarcation had been totally changed.

Documents in possession of DAILY GUIDE indicates that initially certain electoral areas were agreed upon to constitute the new municipality at a meeting attended by stakeholders and Dr Afari Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) on November 7, 2011.

At the meeting held at the palace of the chief of Asokore/Mampong, the shareholders agreed that Asokore/Mampong, Sepe/Timpom, Adukrom, Akurem and Adenyase from the Asawase constituency would constitute the new municipality.

The rest were Kentinkrono and Aprade from the Oforikrom constituency and Dote and Duase from the Manhyia constituency.

But unfortunately the agreed list was changed when the Legal Instrument (LI) 2055 document, which proposed the creation of the new Municipality, was submitted to the Subsidiary Committee on Legislation of Parliament for consideration and approval.

Areas such as Sepe Timpom East, Sepe Timpom West, Paakoso, Akotosu, Akuresu and Alaba, which are not existing electoral areas with Assembly members, were illegally included in the document to constitute the new municipality.

The LI, which gives power for the creation of new districts, requires that areas for selection to constitute the proposed new district or municipality should be existing electoral areas with Assembly members.

Checks conducted by DAILY GUIDE revealed that the government realized that should the agreed areas be allowed to stand, the agenda of the ruling party would backfire.

This is because the initial agreed areas were Akan dominated areas where the electorate, who are mostly pro-NPP, would vote against the ruling party.

The government clandestinely replaced them with areas in the existing Asawase constituency, dominated by Muslims, where the ruling party is certain majority of the electorate would vote for the party.

DAILY GUIDE has gathered that the stakeholders became infuriated when they heard about the changes.   

The paper gathered that stakeholders, who attended the said meeting, had petitioned the Subsidiary Committee on Legislation of Parliament to reject the document.

The paper learnt that the stakeholders and people in those areas had announced plans to stage massive demonstration against the government should their petition fail to yield the desired results.

  From Morgan Owusu, Kumasi