Kwaku Kwarteng petitions NPP to sanction Nana Ayew Afriyie over Obuasi West election dispute
Member of Parliament for Obuasi West, Kwaku Kwarteng, has petitioned the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to institute disciplinary proceedings against the Member of Parliament for Effiduase-Asokore, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, over his conduct in a dispute arising from the party's constituency executive elections in Obuasi West.
The petition, dated July 12, and addressed to the NPP General Secretary, also seeks the reversal of a recommendation by the Ashanti Regional Executive Committee that cleared one Kofi Appianin Ennin to contest for the position of First Vice Chairman in the constituency.
Kwarteng, who also served as the NPP's parliamentary candidate and campaign manager for Obuasi West during the 2024 general election, argued that the regional committee's recommendation was based on an unverified and false claim that the party had authorised an independent parliamentary candidacy in the constituency.
"As Campaign Manager for the Obuasi West campaign in 2024, and now as Member of Parliament for the constituency, I was directly responsible for the campaign's strategy and decisions at the constituency level. No decision was made, by me, by the Constituency Executive Committee, or by any properly constituted Party organ known to me, to authorise, sponsor, or support the independent candidature run against the Party's own candidate," he stated.
According to the petition, the Ashanti Regional Executive Committee relied on claims allegedly affirmed by Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie that Kofi Appianin Ennin's independent parliamentary bid formed part of a deliberate party strategy to draw votes away from political opponents.
The lawmaker stressed that no evidence had been presented to support that assertion and argued that even if such authorisation had been granted, it would have been unconstitutional because the party's constitution automatically strips members of their membership if they contest or support an independent candidate against an official NPP candidate.
"To let the official Party record show that Party leadership secretly authorised and ran an independent candidate against its own sponsored candidate, in order to siphon votes from opponents... would present the Party as willing to manipulate the electoral process and mislead the electorate," the petition said.
He is therefore asking the National Disciplinary Committee to sanction Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie under Article 4 of the NPP Constitution, including possible reprimand, suspension or disqualification from holding party office.
He is also seeking the reinstatement of the Constituency Appeals Committee's decision to disqualify Kofi Appianin Ennin, Kofi Owusu Ansah and Joseph Kwabena Bonsu from contesting in the Obuasi West constituency executive elections.