Fuseini Issah, a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikwei North Constituency, has stated that the rate at which the number of delegates increase within every voting year, renders the democratic experiments extremely unsustainable.
Fuseini Issah claimed that because the methods had changed and the number of delegates had increased, it would actually cost the New Patriotic Party in both its Presidential and Parliamentary primaries. He noted that if it was going to cost the party money, then it should recruit the best candidates, since he thought that ultimately the party will obtain electable people.
Additionally, he disclosed that in his first race against Elizabeth K.T. Sackey in 2012, he fell short and assisted her in taking the seat, which he later took over in 2016, before losing again in 2020. He said that the number of delegates increased from 300 in 2012, to 400 in 2015, then to 600 in 2020 and finally to 830 in 2023.
“So, it has evolved over time just because of the creation of new polling stations. There are 162 polling stations and we also have the Council of Elder, the Patrons and the Executive body; and that’s the electoral body. So, it’s evolved over time. Politics itself has evolved.
“The truth is that, this aspect of our politics as most political actors will tell you, is very unsustainable and we need to do something about it because it keeps increasing. It makes our democratic experimentation very unsustainable. I don’t know because over time, looking at when I contested in 2012 and the last time I contested in 2020, and looking at what is ahead of us, it is a problem.”
Fuseini Issah
The former MP also stated that the Okwaikei North Constituency should be watched out for and that he hoped that the voting exercise would be carried out honestly and that people in charge of the polls would also genuinely follow the regulations.
“I mean we actually have a constitution from both National and the Party. The party has issued guidelines and hopefully, we should have a winnable candidate. At the end of the day, I believe I stand tall amongst those who have filed and I have a track record within the constituency, compared to our current sitting member of parliament who is missing from the constituency. At the end of the day, I’m going to come up with flying colors.”
Fuseini Issah
Fuseini Claims To Have The Constituency At Heart
According to Fuseini Issah’s analogy, it would not be necessary to inform someone who possesses a home as either the landlord, the tenant, or a landguard because it would be a known fact.
Given that he was raised there and had strong ties to the community, he claimed to have the constituencies best interest at heart. He asserted that he alone could bring the constituency together, adding that he would not be discouraged by the events, the media, or those who had not been known to the constituency until lately.
“Up until 2020 elections, they were not in the constituency. In fact, some of them just came to the constituency, even some came last Easter. So, we’re not going to allow them to actually bring that level of disability into the constituency. We have experienced it before and it is not a behavior that we are going to promote in the constituency because if we go that route, it means that it is going to be more difficult for us to win the seat.
“So, for me and my team and most of my party members within the constituency, it is unity towards election 2024 and we will not allow some of these issues to dissuade us or actually destabilize the constituency going forward.”
Fuseini Issah
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