Political science lecturer, Prof Ransford Gyampo, has commended the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for its rollout of guidelines in the leadup to the internal elections later this month, urging the party to live by its rules.
According to him, the NPP deserve to be applauded because the guidelines are very important portions of the NPP Presidential Race Guidelines. He revealed that the guidelines when truly implemented, would help create the needed level playing field for the contest, prevent intimidation, check victimization and guarantee the delegates’ right to vote according to their conscience, even after they have been bribed.
“The NPP Presidential Elections Committee has devised guidelines for their flagbearership race with a view to ensuring free, fair and transparent elections. The guidelines essentially seek to prevent intimidation, victimization or retaliation after voting and promote freedom of choice by delegates… While I commend the NPP for these guidelines, I urge them to, for once, live by their own internal rules and guidelines. Let those with positional trust in the party police the rigid implementation of these. For it is in their own interest to do so.”
Prof Ransford Gyampo
Guidelines for NPP’s internal elections
Among other things, Prof Gyampo lauded the NPP on its decision of active government officials not serving as agents for any aspirant and the ban on MPs from going into the polling area with their armed bodyguards with weapons around the place of voting. Also, he stated that the “no electronic gadget, including phones and pinhole cameras would be allowed around polling booths”, is a good move by the party.
Furthermore, Prof Gyampo emphasized the party’s move in ensuring serial numbers are made complex so no voter can be linked to any particular number and the prohibition of “macho men” near voting centres is a welcomed development.
It will be recalled that in its statement detailing the guidelines for party delegates and participants, the NPP equally revealed that delegates will vote as they walk in and would not be called by their names to go and vote. It further stated that all ballots, valid, rejected and unused, will be placed in the ballot boxes after counting and all aspirants will affix their seals.
Moreover, the party indicated that the EC shall keep the ballot boxes to prevent tracing and intimidation at a later date, and there will be no speeches from aspirants. These guidelines, Prof Gyampo highlighted, ultimately deserves admiration.
In light of this, he urged the party to let the “few ignoramuses who were mistakenly elected as party officials not be allowed to flout these guidelines with impunity”.
“If they do, let the party top echelons who had previously demonstrated lack of courage, man up to deal with them, else there will be no NPP after the flagbearership race.”
Prof Ransford Gyampo
Meanwhile, ahead of the NPP’s superdelegates conference slated for August 26, the campaign team of NPP flagbearer aspirant, Alan Kyeremanten, has expressed optimism about the chances of the former Trades Minister emerging victorious.
Spokesperson for the team, Yaw Buaben Asamoah, revealed that the campaign has been very smooth and “things are working according to plan”. He revealed that the delegates are receiving Mr. Kyeremanten’s message with enthusiasm.
Also, Mr Buaben noted that the former trades minister is the preferred candidate in the party’s ‘World Bank’, the Ashanti Region, where the chiefs and the people have thrown their weight behind him.
As it stands, ten individuals are aspiring to lead the ruling NPP into the 2024 general election. The party will, however, prune the number down to five in its superdelegates conference across the 16 regional capitals.
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