NDC expands Electoral College to 250,000

The governing party has expanded its Electoral College from 4,000 to 250,000.

It is meant to broaden democratic participation within the party as far as electing parliamentary candidates, flagbearers and national executives is concerned.

Deputy Attorney General Dr Dominic Ayine, who is also a member of the legal drafting team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) told Bernard Nassara Saibu in an interview at the congress grounds that the expansion is part of processes toward deepening internal democracy in the party.

The party is currently electing national executives for the next four years at the Baba Yara Stadium in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi.

Close to 4,000 delegates are taking part in the elections. The expansion of the Electoral College effectively means 250,000 delegates will be taking part in a similar exercise in the next four years.

“Most of the proposals that we have today…are geared toward deepening internal democracy in the party,” Ayine explained.

“…We are giving the franchise, constitutionally, to a larger number of our party members.

“It will no longer be a selected few who are entitled to come and vote for either the MP or the President or national executives and so on so that is a major feat that we have chalked,” Ayine said.

The NDC is the second party to expand its Electoral College to allow several thousands of party members to directly take part in internal elections.

The main opposition New Patriotic Party did so a few years ago. Close to 125,000 delegates took part in the election of a flagbearer in August this year.