Cape Coast, Aug. 3, GNA - Mr. Bright Wireko-Brobbey a founding member and a member of Hemang-Lower Denkyira Constituency branch of New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Sunday declared his intention to contest the Parliamentary seat as an independent candidate in the December 2008 general elections.
Speaking at a press conference at Cape Coast, he said the decision has finally been arrived at, after very deep and sober reflections over an unfair and unjustifiable treatment meted out to him, in particular and all Hemang Lower Denkyira NPP supporters in general by the NPP Hemang Lower Denkyira Constituency Executives with the connivance and support of, especially the Central Regional NPP chairman over his eligibility to contest the primaries in the Constituency.
Mr. Wireko-Brobbey said as true NPP faithful, "I filed my papers to contest the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Mr. Ben Donkor, not because of my selfish ambition of becoming a Member of Parliament but simply because of loss of faith and confidence in the incumbent by supporters and other political stakeholders, including Traditional Authorities, Assembly Members, men, women, students and other youth groups across the Constituency."
Mr. Wireko-Brobbey, who is a Development Consultant and currently with Care International said, realizing that a disgraceful defeat awaited them should there be primaries, "the constituency executives who had formed an enclave and very reluctant to allow any eligible person to contest Mr Donkor, had denied knowledge of me, by endorsing on my nomination forms that they had not known me in the party for two years; somebody who has been a member of the party since 1992, having introduced the late Professor Adun Boahen in the run-up to December presidential elections in 1992 and also contested the position of District Chief Executive together with four others in 2005."
He said, "seeing that the constituency executives had been unfair to me, Mr Lord Commey, who happened to chair the vetting committee, referred both the executives and myself to a mediation committee to arrive at a just and an amicable solution and this committee was chaired by one prominent and respected party father known as Nana Awuku. He said, "the mediation committee on all two occasions that I met with them recommended that the primaries in Hemang Lower Denkyira be organized after which the losing contestants will support the winner to move the campaign to a greater height. This advice from the mediation committee was blatantly defied with the utmost disregard and disrespect for the people of my constituency when my supporters and I learned two days before that an acclamation was planned for Friday, the 10th of May 2008. Party faithful immediately sought an injunction to restrain the unjustified and purported acclamation, resulting in a close to four months deadlock on the issue of the primaries in the constituency."
Mr Wireko-Brobbey said, "during this period, leading members including chiefs and other opinion leaders tried to ensure that both parties came to a compromise but all these attempts, including polling station chairpersons making trips to NPP Headquarters in Accra and Assin Fosu to meet with Mr Kennedy Agyapong who doubles as the Campaign Committee Chairman for the Central Region, failed to give justice, equity and fair play in the democratic dispensation of my political right to be elected on the NPP ticket and subsequently becoming Member of Parliament to serve my people and mother Ghana."
He said, "the worst of the cases was recorded on Sunday, the 13th of July 2008 when a maiden rally was organized by the NPP to introduce parliamentary aspirants in all constituencies where either acclamations or primaries had been organized. As of that date, constituencies such as Tema East, Offinso, Oforikrom, among others, which had either not conducted primaries/ acclamation or failed to have elected aspirants were respectfully dignified by not declaring any candidate. It was only the people of Hemang Lower Denkyira who were once again ridden over, grossly disrespected, and denied dignity when Mr Donkor was mentioned and declared to the good people of Ghana as the candidate for the constituency. This in fact, was a dirty slap in the face of NPP constitution in Article 11 (1), 11 (6) and 12 (7) which do not permit a declaration when primaries or acclamations have not been held at the constituency level."
Mr Wireko-Brobbey said, this once again demonstrated the imposition of a candidate on the people of the constituency and also an entrenched position taken right from the opening of nominations. He urged all eligible voters, to take advantage of the on-going registration exercise to get registered and vote massively for him to register his vindication that, "indeed, I am the people's choice and that true and sustainable development comes from the people and not from regional and national executives."
