Chairman Odeneho Kwaku Appiah (COKA), former New Patriotic Party (NPP) constituency Chairman for Afigya Kwabre South in the Ashanti region has appealed to the national executives to consider organising early primaries to elect parliamentary candidates for constituencies where the party does not have Members of Parliament (MPs).
“Yes per the article 12 of the NPP’s constitution on the selection of Parliamentary Candidates (PCs), the party has 12 months (1 year) to general elections to elect PCs but the second part of the article 12 (3) says the national executive committee shall have the power to determine separate dates for elections in constituencies where the party has MPs and those with no MPs (orphan constituencies). So the national executives can put a proposal before national council for early primaries in the orphan constituencies”, he urged.
COKA who shared the above views at a media interaction with Oyerepa TV breakfast show last Monday in Kumasi said inspite of the one-year constitutional provision, the Ntim- led administration has the power to vary the dates to help the progress of the party.
“Look at parliament now, is so divided. Out of 275 MPs the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has 137 and NPP 137 which is impeding the work of government. The speaker is an NDC member. We cannot afford to have this kind of Parliament again after 2024 elections. We lost more seats at the last elections to NDC therefore we need a new strategy, new direction to win back and even add more seats in 2024.
“Therefore, l suggest a proposal is sent to allow orphan PCs to be elected at least 2 years to election time. This will enable those who will be elected get enough time to campaign and reach out to those who lost for a peaceful and united campaign to win back lost seats”, he added.
He cited some constituencies that can easily slip back to NPP.
“Check constituencies like Pusiga in upper east region, NPP lost by 63 votes. Savelugu in the northern region, NPP lost by 99 votes. Banda in the Bono Region, by 81 votes. Sene West in Bono East, NPP lost by 16 votes and many other places that the party lost by less than 500 votes. Once the party elects candidates early enough and with united front, those seats can be won.
“In Ashanti region we can easily win 3 out of the 4 seats we lost to NDC. In Sekyere Afram Plains, NPP lost by 156 votes, New Edubiase by 1,780 votes and even Ejura-Sekyere-Dumase. In Asawase constituency, the NDC is facing serious internal problems that we can take advantage of and cause a surprise when the party elects PC on time.
“The same apply to Gomoa east where NPP lost by 764 votes, Upper Denkyira west by 521 votes. Ablekuma central, 204 votes; Ayensuano, 241 votes; and Suaman, 414 votes. In fact, Asikuma-Obdoben-Brakwa, Okaikwei North, Assin North and others are all NPP seats that with unity and strategic campaign the party can easily win back in 2024”, he pointed out.
All is not lost
Chairman Odeneho admitted that times are hard but urged the people to be patient with government.
“Government admits times are hard and it is not only in Ghana. It is a global phenomenon. Not a single country across the globe is spared. So let’s tone down a bit. All is not lost. The NPP is the only party that can transform Ghana; especially the Ashanti region. We are all witnesses to the mess which was created by John Mahama administration before 2017 even without Covid 19 and the Russia – Ukraine war. They could not manage the helms of affairs of the country.
