FROM Daniel Y Dayee – Sunyani
KWESI ADU-GYAN is a former regional chairman of the then Brong Ahafo region and the immediate past Bono East Minister in the erstwhile Akufo Addo administration and has held several positions in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) both home and abroad (USA)
According to him, until the NPP returns to the basis where party stalwarts like Bernard da Rocha, Haruna Esseko, former President John Agyekum Kuffour, Peter Ala Adjetey just to mention a few worked strictly with party constitution provisions making the party attractive nothing can be done to salvage the current tattered image of the party in spite of changes that shall be made and adopted at the national delegate conference tomorrow at the Legon stadium
Mr. Adu-Gyan is therefore calling on delegates to reject any amendment to allow for the top- bottom approach to elect the flag bearer of the party.
What is the state of the flag of the NPP today? It is tattered, so how do we handover a tattered flag to a bearer, he asks rhetorically. I think the best way out is for us to build a robust party structures and it won’t matter who bears the flag because he can hold the robust flag high and we can all rally behind.
He therefore warned of further disintegration if the proposed top-button down approach is adopted to elect a flag bearer for the 2028 general election since whoever wins is going to find it difficult to unit supporters of losers and make some members become aloof.
As a result, the experienced has submitted an eight-point proposal to the nation executives as part of changes to adopt at the national delegate conference to restructure the party and expand the electoral college to elect various executives leading to the election of the flagbearer.
‘If adopted it is still possible to work within the 6th of December 2025 date proposal by the national executive to elect a flagbearer’, he noted.
According to him, the absence of a database of the New Patriotic Party members the party can expand its electoral college by allowing all persons who have served in various positions since 1992, including appointed positions since 1992, all presidential and parliamentary candidates since 1992 and all past and present assembly members and all diaspora branches executives since 1992 should find their ways into the electoral college.
Other categories of members who should also find their ways into the expanded electoral college should be past and present TESCON/TESCONA since their formation, patrons and council of elders of the party
Apart from the aforementioned persons other members who have never held any position in the party but can show proof of paid-up membership and have history of payment traceable to at least a year can also make their way into the expanded electoral college.
All the above categories of members should register in the voters register in their constituencies and allow to pay three months of membership dues after annual delegate conference.
After this, constituency, regional and parliamentary elections could be held on the same day concurrently throughout the various constituencies in the country to elect party officers and parliamentary candidates at a scheduled special constituency annual delegate conference. This will be possible after polling station executives and coordinators are elected at the grassroots.
Proceeding from this the Electoral Voters register can be compiled within three months to meet the NEC December election
‘It is party that select candidates, the party has to build its robust structures before it elects its flagbearer’. If we build robust structures anybody who comes shall win but if the party structures are not strong whoever comes will lose, he noted.
He therefore called on delegates to vote against top-button approach during at tomorrow’s conference to make amendment to the NPP’s constitution.