Francis Addai-Nimoh, one of the presidential hopefuls in the flagbearership race of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has bemoaned the culture of open declarations and public endorsement of candidates by some Members of Parliament (MPs) and other leaders of the party.
He described the situation as problematic because, he believes, it hurts the integrity and fairness of the election.
The aspirant, Addai-Nimoh, who was speaking on GTV, noted throughout the election process, some MPs and leaders of the party have been seen openly declaring their support for a particular candidate which is against the party’s rules.
He also stressed that even though he welcomes private support from party leaders, public declarations, he said, posed challenges to party unity.
“Right now there are four of us in the race, it is an open race. Prior to the commencement of the process, I indicated that for the sake of the unity of the party, I will plead and urge the top leaders of the party to remain neutral. That has not been the case. Because if you have MPs who are declaring openly for a particular candidate it is of concern.
“This is because we know the influence of MPs in their respective constituencies. Where delegates who are there will respect the instructions or the suggestion of their MPs. I have indicated that for the sake of the unity of the party, you could support me in private but the public declaration is what we oppose,” he said.
He further explained that similar incidents occurred in 2014 which was overlooked. But if the party is keen on breaking the 8 as it is their mantra, it mustn't repeat the same tactics of open endorsement.
“In 2014, there was a similar process, public declaration by MP and that same year, I was in the race for the super delegate and the main election. Out of the 7 seven contestants of which I place third. Now we are seeing something similar to this in 2023, knowing that the environment is different.
“The difference is that in 2014, the party was in opposition and we had been in opposition for the second term and the desire of the rank and file of the party was that we needed to come to government and win the 2016 and form government in 2017. So some of the intimidation and coercion were overlooked by the aspirants.
He continued “But currently, it is a different environment because the party now is in government and we have been in government for the second term and we know that the trend in our political dispensation is that 8 year cycle between the two major parties, NPP and NDC. Therefore, if we are determined to set a record by breaking the 8 then we cannot implore the same tactics that we used in 2014,” he added.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is preparing to have its national delegation elections on November 4, 2023, to select a flagbearer to represent the party in the general election in 2024.
The race which started with ten aspirants was trimmed down on Augusts 26, 2023. Two of the remaining aspirants resigned, citing various reasons, giving way for four of them to contest in the upcoming national delegates conference.
They are the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong; Ing Francis Addai-Nimoh, and former Minister for Agric, Dr Afriyie Akoto.
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Flagbearer hopeful of the NPP, Francis Addai-Nimoh