2020 elections: You’ll lose to NDC if you handpick candidates - Amoako Tuffour warns NPP

A founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Amoako Tuffour has predicted the defeat of the party in the 2020 polls if it goes ahead with the option of handpicking candidates for Parliamentary positions.

The General Secretary of the NPP , John Boadu had suggested in an interview said: “assuming this pandemic gets worse such that it becomes impossible for us to go to primaries at all but the Electoral Commission insist they can put in place some social distancing protocol arrangement that will make it possible for us to vote on December 7, this is a hypothetical situation, and it’s going to be impossible for us to hold primaries since there is a ban on it, the National Executive Committee can take a decision that X, Y or Z should be the candidates for our party in constituency 1, 2 or 3.”

John Boadu, however, was quick to add that the decision will be based on facts available to the party’s Executive Committee adding that persons who will be chosen to represent the party will be determined based on the dynamics on the ground and their own arrangements.

But reacting to this, Dr. Amoako Tuffour who is a leading member of the New Patriotic Party said resorting to handpicking of candidates for the various constituencies will lead to the failure of the political party.

According to him, imposing candidates on the electorates will be detrimental to the fortunes of the NPP in 2020 elections because it may breed voter apathy or force some electorates to vote skirt and blouse just to please their candidates who were rejected.

He said it will be unconstitutional for the Political Party to engage in such illegality as handpicking candidates who are not the choice of the people who will be going to the polls in December 2020.

“The Party can organize these elections on a football field in order to ensure social distancing and other protocols we’ve been asked to observe. The NPP needs to take advantage of the current situation and make sure it’s elections is held because the option of handpicking candidates cannot be considered because if they try it that will take the party into opposition and we cannot allow that,” he told Accra-based Okay FM