The New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Chairman, Peter Mac Manu has admitted that in spite of the dramatic headway being made by the ruling party in its efforts to pick parliamentary candidates, a number of ‘black spots’ are still creating headaches for the hierarchy. At least six constituencies spread across five regions - Greater Accra, Eastern, Western, Ashanti and Northern - were beset with heated wrangling, some of which were bloody.
While a number of constituencies had their cases being sorted out in the law courts, the status of others were yet to be determined by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
Unconfirmed reports also had it that a disgruntled candidate in the Offinso North Constituency was going independent.
With only six constituencies to go, the National Chairman expressed the confidence that the full list of 230 parliamentary candidates would be ready before the Electoral Commission (EC) opens parliamentary nominations in September this year.
Speaking on Peace FM’s Morning Show, Kokroko, yesterday, Mr. Mac Manu identified some of the trouble spots as Tema West, Suhum, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Bole Bamboi, Abuakwa North and Bekwai constituencies. He revealed that a team had been dispatched to the Suhum Constituency, for instance, to investigate what prompted the political deadlock in the area, where Frederick Opare-Ansah and Brian Acheampong had been at each other’s throats for several months.
It would be recalled that after three consecutive times, blood was spilled a couple of times at elections that led to mayhem and the reported loss of a ballot box.
He further revealed that the Bekwai debacle, where demonstrating party members had vandalized properties, prompting police to fire tear gas and hot water canons on the demonstrators, was still far from over, adding that the situation on the ground was closely being monitored and investigated. The stalemate in that constituency was between the incumbent MP, Hon. Kofi Edusei Poku and Joe Osei-Owusu, and party gurus were scratching their heads over how to make the two smoke the peace pipe and move on.
Equally boiling was the Tema West Constituency in the Greater Accra Region where Chairman Mac Manu explained that the two contestants, Abraham Ossei Aidooh and Irene Naa Korshie Addo, had finally agreed to contest each other as soon as the incumbent and Majority Leader returns from a national assignment in Malaysia.
The only trouble spot in the Western Region was Effia-Kwesimintsim, but the Chairman explained that the fate of Kofi Coomson, publisher of The Chronicle, would be known by the close of work on Thursday July 31, 2008 when the National Executive Committee meets.
Coomson and Hon. Joe Baidoo-Ansah were the only contestants for the primaries there before the MP filed a petition against the publisher based on his use (or misuse?) of party letterheads and certain comments he made on radio ahead of the presidential congress last year.
The party’s Vetting Committee reportedly recommended the disqualification of The Chronicle Publisher, but the Chairman said it was up to the NEC to accept or reject the recommendations from the committee and another one at the Abuakwa North constituency.
The Abuakwa North, it would be recalled, on May 9, 2008 successfully elected one Professor Samuel Kwadwo Amoako, but following a petition to the party by the defeated MP, Hon. J.B. Danquah, and two others, the Legal and Constitutional Committee on July 12, 2008 recommended that the professor be disqualified for lying to the party. The committee recommended that his declaration was false based on the grounds that he was a citizen of another country as at the time he filed his nomination papers to contest the primary.
“Consequently, his application, vetting and election is therefore null and void,” the committee stated. Tension was also high in the Bole Bamboi constituency between supporters of Elizabeth Salamatu Forgoh, who had earlier been elected unopposed, and Ishahaku Kotomah.
