Tension is brewing within the New Patriotic Party in the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem Constituency of the Central Region in the run up to the constituency executives’ elections.
While some observers see this development as a threat to the chances of the party’s victory come 2012, little seems to be done to resolve the impasse.
A contender in the Constituency Chairmanship race, Mr Agyemang Kessie, who was allegedly sacked from the party prior to the 2008 election, has affirmed that nobody can sack him from the NPP, since he has not done anything that warrant a sack.
According to Mr Agyemang Kessie, who was the Constituency Chairman of the party from 1998 to 2005, the decision by the then chairman, Mr Appiah Korang, to sack him from the party was misplaced and unfounded, describing it as a calculated attempt to block his political ambition.
Speaking to Deladem Kessieh on AHOMKA FM morning show in Elmina last Tuesday, Mr Agyemang Kessie noted that he became the Chairman of the party at a time when they were in opposition and the party was not attractive to anyone.
He said through hard work and determination he helped better the chances of the party until they won power in the 2000 election.
The one time chairman said he humbly handed over to his successor in 2005 for him to also continue from where he stopped.
“Things started going bad when I decided to contest the Parliamentary Primaries in the last election. Just when I was about to purchase nomination forms, I was told by the then chairman, Appiah Korang, that I was not known in the party, neither have I contributed anything to the development of the party in the constituency.
It even got to a point where I was asked to pay twenty million cedis (now GHC 2000) for the nomination forms. Unperturbed by their action to discourage me, I went ahead and arranged for the nominations forms to be purchased for me but was again disqualified on no grounds,” Mr Agyemang Kessie recounted.
These actions by the then chairman, according to Mr Agyeman Kessie, led to the abysmal performance of the party in the Constituency in the last election.
He averred that although Mr Appiah Korang and his cohorts hurriedly organized a news conference to tell the nation that he Agyeman Kessie had been expelled from the party, no letter to that effect was given to him.
“Both the constituency and regional executives have also confirmed that they have since not received any letter to that effect expelling me from the party,” stated Mr Kessie.
It would be recalled that Mr Agyeman Kessie was disqualified from contesting the last Parliamentary Primaries in the last election in the KEEA Constituency, which saw then Central Regional Minister, Nana Ato Arthur, approved unopposed but who lost to Dr J. S. Annan of the NDC in the 2008 Parliamentary election.
“My decision to contest the chairmanship position in the Constituency this time has attracted the displeasure of the very people who could not help the party to maintain its grip on power.”
According to Mr Agyeman Kessie, before and after the vetting of which he was a candidate, these detractors have been spreading word in the Constituency that “I have been disqualified from the race,” adding that “any polling station executive who is seen dealing with me will be automatically expelled from the party.”
He said although he was not disqualified after the vetting exercise, like others who were told instantly, the outcome of the exercise is still not communicated to him.
He said the date and venue of the election as well as the list of delegates have not been made available to the candidates.
Mr Agyemang Kessie observed that these were the very acts that led to the party’s woes in the last election.
He said out of the 109 polling stations in the Constituency, the NPP won just 20 polling stations in the last elections although resources were made available.
He said his survey in the area revealed that the party needs 40 votes in every polling station to the existing votes to win power in the next elections.
This, according to him, calls for pragmatic actions championed by a strong leadership which he is ready to provide.
He said he however has confidence in the laid down structures of the party in ensuring that all interested parties are treated fairly to ensure party’s victory in the 2012 elections.
BY DELADEM KISSEIH, ELMINA
