We Support John Boadu’s Stance

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has, in a statement issued by the General Secretary of the party in Accra yesterday, warned aspiring members of parliament and constituency executives not to make any attempt to tamper with the constituency albums that contain the names of delegates eligible to vote in the primaries.

According to John Boadu, the National Secretariat has copies of the various constituency albums for each of the 275 constituencies, which albums shall be used for the parliamentary primaries until otherwise communicated by the national party.

To the General Secretary, it would be a futile exercise for anybody, particularly, constituency executives, prospective parliamentary aspirants, sitting members of parliament and other stakeholders to engage in tampering with the current constituency albums for purposes of effecting changes to suit their interests.

“That notwithstanding, the party cautions all persons who may be engaged in such enterprise to desist forthwith, else, they risk being sanctioned in accordance with the party's disciplinary procedures. The party counts on the usual cooperation of all stakeholders,” he noted.

Politics, they say, is a dirty game, but the way people go about it sometimes leave much to be desired. With the sitting members of parliament busily transacting government business in Accra, those seeking to overthrow them would also move to the constituencies to do the ground work to undermine them. Until the party came out with a fatwa that all metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives seeking to contest parliamentary primaries should resign from their positions, the journey to Parliament House was a rough one.

Because these MMDCEs are interested in contesting the parliamentary primaries to become candidates for the party, they would move heaven earth to undermine the sitting MP. Sometimes releasing the MP's share of the Common Fund to carry out development projects becomes problematic. All these frustrations are now seen as things of the past because of the pragmatic measures the party has put in place.

It is in the light of this that The Chronicle thinks the statement released by the General Secretary in connection with the impending primaries is appropriate. The party also took a wise decision to keep copies of the constituency albums at the party headquarters. This means no individuals can easily doctor the album and present it as a genuine one. In the past, tampering with the albums was the order of the day, and this created problems for the party.

Sometimes, two photo albums are presented during primaries in some of the constituencies, thus making the process of electing a parliamentary candidate a herculean one. To ensure that the order is dutifully obeyed, The Chronicle is suggesting to Mr John Boadu and his team to severely punish anyone who flouts the directives. This is the only way we think the party can use to whip its members into line.

A party can only carry out its programmes if it controls the majority in Parliament, and with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) expected to contest the elections with all seriousness, the NPP dares not lose guard, and this is the reason why they must ensure a united front.