The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) does not expect the decision of some of its members to contest as independent candidates in the December polls to affect its chances.
Deputy General Secretary of the party, Nana Obiri Boahen, says the party has informed all such candidates that they cease to be members of the NPP under Article 3(9) of its constitution.
Nana Obiri Boahen in a Citi News interview said such occurrences are always to be expected but will be properly managed.
“Sometimes, you will not have all the numbers. It is just unfortunate that they have decided to go away. We are dealing with human beings and political parties are run by human beings so it is a natural phenomenon. So we need not be surprised by some of these things. In NPP, thousands will go away and thousands will come in. Never mind because there is nothing we can do. People have spoken and impressed on them, so they want to go with them so that they don’t run them down”, he noted.
Some aggrieved NPP members who claim they were unjustifiably disqualified from contesting in the party’s parliamentary primaries have resolved to contest the polls as independent candidates.
Constituencies, where such issues have been reported, include Asokwa, Bekwai and Ahafo-Ano-North.
The NPP had put in place a national reconciliation committee to engage aggrieved candidates going independent.
President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia had been urging party supporters not to back members going independent.
The NPP also made special mention of the MP for Fomena in the Ashanti Region, Amoako Andrew Asiamah, who has filed to contest as an independent parliamentary candidate.
“By so doing, he has presumably vacated his seat in Parliament pursuant to Article 97(1)(g) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic,” the party indicated.
Article 97(1)(g) of the party’s constitution states that: “A Member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament if he leaves the party of which he was a member at the time of his election to Parliament to join another party or seeks to remain in Parliament as an independent member.”
The NPP thus said it has “taken the necessary steps to inform the Speaker of Parliament of the above circumstances, for appropriate action to be taken.”
In contrast, the party lauded its members who contemplated running as independent candidates “but reconsidered their decision in deference to the supreme interest of the Party.”
“Such display of loyalty and patriotism to the party can never go unnoticed,” the NPP said.
