NPP`s Patriotic Youth charges again…Sounds alarm bells on pre-conditions for free, fair Congress

A WEEK after the Patriotic Youth of Ghana (PYG) threatened to form the Reformed Patriotic Party (RPP) if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) leadership did not meet some set conditions, it is now talking about constitutional requirements for a free and fair National Delegates Congress to elect a flagbearer.

The Patriotic Youth, in a reminder contained in a petition to NPP's National Chairman and copied to the National Executive Council and Council of Elders of the NPP, urged the leadership of the party to come out with modalities for electing constituency delegates for the purpose of electing a flagbearer at the impending National delegates congress in accordance with constitutional provisions.

The Patriotic Youth said it was incumbent on the leadership of the party to provide a level playing ground for the election of a flagbearer, particularly when the party is currently contending with an increasing number of presidential aspirants.

In its agenda setting moves, the union has drawn the attention of the leadership of the party to constitutional requirements to ensure free and fair delegates congress slated for December this year.

The petition, jointly signed by Mr. Kwabena Adjei alias Bambata and Nana Owusu Agyemang, National Chairman and Acting General Secretary respectively of the PYG, referred the NPP to Article 12 section 6 of the party's constitution, which states that for the purposes of the election of a presidential candidate, delegates shall comprise 10 people from each constituency, one regional representative of founding members and a representative from each overseas branch which is entitled to a representation.

The group stated that since the Party's Constitution adopted on August 29, 1998 was not amended at the Koforidua Congress, it means that national and regional executives as well as Members of Parliament (MPs) were not eligible to vote during the National Congress.

They also drew the attention of the National Chairman to Article 6, sub-section 18 of the Party's Constitution on the need to conduct an extraordinary constituency delegates' meeting to elect delegates for the National Congress.

The referred section of the said article provides that, “every constituency executive committee shall convene an extraordinary constituency delegates' conference to elect, when required, six members of the constituency, who are not constituency officers, together with four constituency officers to attend the National Congress”.

The Patriotic Youth has therefore urged the National Chairman to encourage all 230 constituencies to convene an extraordinary constituency delegates' conference in fulfillment of the provisions of the constitution.

They said if in view of Article 6, sub-section 18, the extraordinary constituency delegates conference cannot be held, the constituency executives committee should go by Article 12(6), by which the mantle would then fall on the constituency chairperson, the first and second vice chairpersons, secretary, assistant secretary, financial secretary, organizer, women's organizer as well as the youth organizer who are duly elected constituency executives and the sitting MP.

They said, going by this provision, it would then become necessary for the list of all names of constituency delegates accompanied by their pictures to be made public three clear months before the Congress.

The youth further urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that 10 ballot boxes are provided for the 10 regions to enable all delegates to cast their votes at the same time to avoid vote buying.

The Patriotic Youth noted that adhering to the constitutional requirements regarding the National Delegates Congress would ensure fairness and avoid a situation where a Godfather sitting somewhere decides who should be a delegate to the advantage of a particular Presidential aspirant.