Progressive Alliance Remains Intact

The marriage of electoral convenience among the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Egle Party and the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) remains intact in spite of some misunderstanding among the Progressive Alliance.

Mr Bede A. Ziedeng, NDC Deputy General-Secretary (in-charge-of-operations) disclosed this to “Evening News” in an interview in Accra yesterday. He noted that his party was essentially dealing with the Egle Party and some elements of the DPP. “The marriage is not dissolved and we are still with each other even though our interactions have not been strong as before”, he said emphatically. The NDC, Egle Party and the defunct National Convention Party (NCP) forged on electoral pact when they contested the 1992 elections on a sole presidential ticket with Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings as the candidate. However, the NCP fell out of the alliance creating a vacuum which was occupied by the DPP.

A split in the DPP after a court ruling in 2001 forced a faction, the Dan Markin group to remain in the alliance whiles the Ward Brew group moved out as a separate entity. Indeed, Mr Ziedeng admitted that there were some rough edges to be straightened if the alliance should remain strong. According to the Deputy General-Secretary, one of the reasons for the misunderstanding was about the selection of parliamentary candidates. He explained that although the alliance partners had agreed on the sole presidential ticket, there were problems as to which party should field parliamentary candidates in the constituency.

According to him, the NDC constitution provides for what should be done when the party wants to form an electoral pact, saying Act 25, Clause 3 (c) spells out this vividly. He, therefore, assured party supporters and faithfuls that adequate modalities would be reached between the NDC and its allied parties before the 2004 general elections. This, Mr. Ziedeng said, would curb any misunderstand leading to the elections.