Conflict mars Weija/Gbawe parliamentary debate

By Deborah Apetorgbor, GNA
Accra, Oct. 27, GNA - A constituency debate for parliamentary candidates, scheduled for the Weija/Gbawe Constituency was disrupted following a disagreement on the banner to be used for the programme.

The debate, which was initially supposed to be collaboration between the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), the Centre for Development (CDD-Ghana Democratic) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), came to a halt even before the function could start.

The programme was therefore cancelled after a misunderstanding between CODEO and the NCCE Greater Accra Regional Chair over who the organiser was, forcing the CODEO officials to pack their equipment and set out from the venue.

Mr Angel Carbonu, Advisory Board Member for CODEO, explained to the media that the programme could not come on as a result of what he described as 'the misbehaviour of the NCCE Regional Chairperson'.

Mr Carbonu, who was scheduled to be the lead moderator for the debate however noted that CODEO has been organising such events successfully without partnership with other organisations and added that the Coalition was going to re-organise and restructure to hold the debates in other constituencies.

He said Mrs Lucille Annan, the NCCE Regional Chairperson, had not been properly informed of the arrangements for the programme which was originally to be held by the CODEO and the CDD-Ghana. The NCCE was then per an arrangement invited to collaborate due the official mandate.

'We are supposed to collaborate, you cannot superimpose yourself and claim ownership of the programme,', he said, adding that her behaviour was unacceptable.

According to him, the programme was being organised by CODEO and CDD-Ghana with NCCE as the third party.

He said the prior understanding was that the debate was a collaboration between CODEO, CDD and NCCE at the Head of the Commission but perhaps communication failed to reach the Regional Chairperson.

Mrs Annan however explained that, the programme was being organised by the NCCE and not CODEO or any other.

She said CODEO wanted to 'ride on our back', so the Commission agreed, however, on arrival, she found that CODEO had used its banner on the set and demanded an explanation.

Consequently, she went ahead to mount NCCE's banner over that of CODEO's which led to a confrontation between the two parties with CODEO pulling out of the programme.

Mrs Annan stated that, the NCCE was holding parliamentary debates in all constituencies, and that all districts have been resourced by the Commission with support from the European Union.

Only the candidate of the National Democratic Congress, Obuobia Opoku Darko, turned up before the rumpus though the aspirants of the New Patriotic Party, Tina Mensah and that of the Convention People's Party had been invited.

The constituency debate forum for parliamentary candidates is intended to give constituents the avenue to interact with their candidates and express their concerns to them.

GNA