Infractions that have set in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in lead up to electing a new flag bearer in previous years have led to defeats for them in the general elections, history and statistics have proven.
But General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong has rejected the assertion saying the party will not reap defeat in the next elections from what he calls the little internal wranglings they are facing currently.
According to him, just like any other political party, the NPP are neither angels nor saints to exist without setbacks, and having some few issues in the party is a gateway to doom in the upcoming general elections.
Justin Kodua was responding to the fate of stakeholders in the party’s August 26 super delegates’ conference where an agent was assaulted in the North East region with no punishment meted out to perpetrators of the act yet.
Host of TV3’s Hot Issues, Keminni Amanor, asked Mr. Kodua Sunday, October 29, 2023, how the leadership expects people to feel secured in their November presidential race after victims of the last exercise have not had justice.
But the NPP General Secretary said the matter is before the disciplinary committee of the party and he cannot regulate how they carry their mandate with his position.
“When a matter is before the disciplinary committee I don’t have the power to question or to call them to regulate how they go on with their activities. That’s why we are waiting on them to finish their investigations and come out with their report so that the party will act on it.
“This is not the first time the NPP is having a presidential primary and I gave you instance from 1992 to 2007, 2014 so it’s not news. If we are to be fair, other political parties have had their primaries. Are you trying to tell me that the NDC presidential primary this year was peaceful? For every political party, we are not angels, we are not saints, when there is a contest, certainly there will be some level of infractions, rules will be made, and the guidelines will come out but there will be some level of infractions at the end of the day.
“From 1992 and even general elections, we have had elections but we have never had perfect elections. You ask yourself, what was the success rate?” he questioned.
He said the single incident in the North East region cannot be used to describe the entire exercise as a failure.
“The North East issue that we are talking about, we held elections at 17 polling centres, tell me apart from North East, which other centres did we hear any infractions? So are we trying to say that because of what happened in the North East, the elections that took place in the 16 centres were not successful,” he relayed.
The NPP will be having its presidential primary on Friday, November 4, 2023 across all the party’s constituencies in the country. This follows an earlier super delegates’ conference which the party undertook to trim its 10 presidential aspirants to five.
Meanwhile, one of the five persons who were shortlisted for the final phase of the exercise pulled out of the race raising maltreatment of his agents and other instances he described as injustice including scheming the process to favour one particular candidate.
Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen following his withdrawal from the elections resigned from the party to form his Movement for Change to contest the 2024 elections as an independent candidate. Left to contest for the flag bearer for the NPP are former Agric Minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, former MP for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and Assin Central lawmaker, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
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