Our electoral woes were orchestrated – PPP cries foul

Defeated presidential candidate of the Progressive People's Party, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, has blamed his party's loss at the polls on what he calls was a deliberate orchestration against the party.

“We thought that we had been wrongfully treated, deliberately wrongfully treated and in a way that was orchestrated by some other people who know who they are.”

Dr. Nduom polled one percent in the just ended polls. His campaign was marred by lawsuits, as his party challenged the Electoral Commission's decision to disqualify him and some others from the presidential race.

He says though the party went by its game plan for the elections, it was frustrated by the Electoral Commission's efforts to disqualify him, which efforts he says were deliberate and orchestrated.

“We took the needed action to take it to the law courts for them to decide that what the electoral commission tried to do was wrong and were trampling on our rights. It took us back in our campaign.”

Flawed electoral process?
According to Dr. Nduom, Ghana's electoral system was still fraught with many challenges which needed to be dealt it.

“This electoral process we have said it many times, it's wrong, it doesn't work. The Electoral Commission is not okay. The process is not okay; the voters' register is not okay.”

He chastised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for ignoring the core challenges with the electoral system upon its victory in the polls.

“You see now that the NPP people has won they are okay with the Electoral Commission; but the Electoral Commission is not okay.”

“We as a political party we did our best. We worked hard. We invested where we needed to invest; we traveled to where ever we needed to go but the orchestration affected our campaign

Will Dr Nduom run for President in 2020?
The employer popularly called “edwumawura” said it was too soon to tell whether or not he will be running for President again.

He had earlier hinted on the Citi Breakfast Show that he would not seek a re-run, should he not win the 2016 elections. However, he says his earlier pronouncements incurred the wrath of his party youth and elders.

“I guess the day that I said this would be my last election, they bombarded me that they should never hear from me again that I make that sort of a statement. So even if today I want to say it again, I can't.”

He however says he will focus on grooming some more young people in the party for both party and national service.

“We have some really very popular people in our party in a number of different constituencies who can command the crowd; but they need to be given an opportunity. So I see it as my singular job is to push them to the front and have them take responsibility for the party and get recognized as people who can lead.”

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By: Sixtus Dong Ullo /Citifmonline.com /Ghana
Follow @ sixtus_gh