The National Council of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has cautioned flagbearer hopefuls and their supporters to strictly comply with the laid down Code of Conduct of the Party or risk being disqualified from contesting the primaries.
The warning comes on the back of recent attacks and counterattacks between some presidential aspirants of the Party and their supporters, ahead of the Party’s Special Electoral College elections on August 26 and National Congress on November 4.
The Party, in a statement signed and issued by Mr Justin Kodua Frimpong, General Secretary, on Monday and obtained by the Ghana News Agency, said the National Council took the serious view to some “unhealthy” comments and utterances from some aspiring Presidential Candidates and their supporters.
According to the statement, such comments did not auger well for the unity and cohesion of the Party.
It has, therefore, vowed to reinforce compliance with the Party’s Code of Conduct for Presidential and Parliamentary Elections of the Party.
It said any aspiring presidential candidate, or his supporters, and party executives at all levels who acted in contravention of the Code of Conduct, moving forward, shall be dealt with in accordance with the guidelines thereof and the Party Constitution.
According to relevant portions of the guidelines dealing with the expected standards of conduct, all aspiring presidential candidates shall campaign on issues and refrain from levelling unsubstantiated allegations, personal attacks and vilifications against their opponents.
The guidelines also indicates that no aspiring presidential candidate shall undertake any activity that will polarise the Party along tribal, religious, and other factional lines and all aspiring presidential candidates shall impress upon their supporters not to engage in any of the activities stated above.
It added that an aspiring presidential candidate shall sign an undertaking with the Party, committing himself to support whoever was eventually elected/selected as the Party’s Presidential Candidate after the election/selection process if he was not elected/selected, while he/she shall also undertake not to contest as an Independent Presidential Candidate or as a Candidate on the ticket of any other political party, and that, the NPP reserved the right to restrain him should he decide otherwise.
The statement said the Party anticipated that those rules and regulations shall be strictly complied with by all stakeholders, particularly the candidates and their supporters in the supreme interest of the Party.
“The Party wishes to reiterate that any Aspiring Presidential Candidate who flouts any of the above guidelines and modalities or conducts himself in a manner that brings the Party’s name into disrepute shall be deemed to be in breach of the Party Constitution and will, accordingly, be sanctioned, including being disqualified from contesting in the Primaries,” it emphasised.
Ten aspirants are expected to contest the Party’s Special Electoral College elections slated for August 26,2023 to trim the number to five ahead of its National Congress on November 4, after they were all cleared by the National Council to contest.
The aspirants are Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, Mr. Kwadwo Poku, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Mr Boakye Kyerematen Agyarko and Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong.
The rest are Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Mr Joe Ghartey and Mr Francis Addai-Nimoh.
The party has constituted a nine-member Elections Committee to supervise the conduct of the Party’s Special Electoral College and the National Congress on August 26 and November 4 respectively.
The Elections Committee, which is chaired by the Rt. Rev. Prof. Mike Aaron Ocquaye, also has Mr. Abankwa Yeboah as the Vice Chairman and Mr Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, Prof. Emmanuel Flolu and Madam Rita Talata Asobayire, as Members.
The rest are Mr. William Yamoah, Member/ Secretary, Mr Evans Nimako, Philip Kwasi Nkrumah (Esq) and Madam Afua Gyekyewa , all members.
The Party, in a statement signed and issued on Monday by Mr Justin Kodua Frimpong, General Secretary, said the decision was arrived at after a National Council meeting held on Thursday, July 20, 2023.
Despite the constitution of the Committee, the Party indicated that the Electoral Commission of Ghana would conduct the Special Electoral College elections.
It added that all aspiring presidential candidates shall be given the validated album for the Special Electoral College at least one month to the date of the Congress (i.e. not later than July 26, 2023).
It also indicated that the Special Electoral College scheduled for August 26, 2023, would be held at each of the 16 Regional Capitals.
Ten aspirants have been cleared by both the Vetting Committee and the National Council of the Party to contest the presidential primaries.