The Majority leader Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has expressed disgust at media reports that alleged he said over 90 percent of polling station executives are useless.
According to him, it is not tidy when journalists deliberately twist and turn statements made by political leaders.
“It is not right,” he said.
Speaking in an interview in Parliament to set the records straight, the Majority leader reiterated that polling station executives appear to be concentrating more on voting people into office than discharging their core mandate.
According to him, this is not right because their main assignment, which is to propagate the ideas and policies of the party is missing.
“That explains why after elections you see all these Parliamentary candidates constituting their own campaign committees.”
“The burden is not on the presidential candidate, the vice-presidential candidate, on the national executives of the party and not even on the regional or constituency executives.
“It rests squarely on the shoulders of the polling station executives,” he stated.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated that he also made remarks on the constitution of the NPP, which provides that members at the various polling stations be reviewed every six months.
“How do you review it? You review it on account of what the polling agents would have done within the polling station like convincing more people to join the party,” he said.
According to him, the focus of the polling station executives has shifted to the extent some are suggesting the party reconsiders the concept, and whether it should be structured like those in established democracies where the burden of campaign work falls on the candidates, both presidential and parliamentary, to put their campaign teams together.
“What is in this statement that suggests that I said polling station executives are useless,” he quizzed.
“This is what I said, but if what was reported was coming directly from the interview then it is very unfortunate.”
“I reiterated this position on various radio stations. Where did I say polling station executives are useless?”
“God should liberate us all from the clutches of such journalism,” he added.
