The chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Savannah Region, Alhaji Iddrisu Sulemana, has reiterated his party’s credentials as pacesetters in Ghana’s politics with impeccable democratic credentials when it comes to the formulation of electoral guidelines among others.
Alhaji Iddrisu Sulemana, popularly referred to as ‘Professor’ Kalamonia, said this in an interview with Myjoyonline on Thursday, July 20, after an encounter between members of the party’s National Council, and all 10 presidential aspirants in Accra.
He has, thus, urged the aspirants to be rest assured that the party will organise a transparent primary.
According to him, nine out of the 10 aspirants made a demand to the National Council for a review of the super delegates’ conference from the regional levels, to one central location in Accra.
“The issue is that NPP is bigger than any individual or group in the party and as a party, we have a Steering Committee which is the highest decision-making body, followed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) and then, the National Council (NC).
“So, if these bodies come out with a verdict on the party, nobody can say no and that’s our party’s constitution,” he stated.
Though he declined to disclose the true identities of the nine presidential aspirants who are making the demands for the November congress, Mr Sulemana wonders why the aspirants should be concerned when their representatives are in the regions.
“I think some of the presidential aspirants are saying if it’s going to be in the regions, either the regional chairmen, regional ministers, or some appointees will influence the process, but if your aspirants do your campaigns very well, I don’t think you should have any problem with anybody in the regions because you have representatives and supporters in all the regions and more to the point, it’s a family contest,” he said.
Alhaji Sulemana said as a democratic establishment where politics is about numbers, he thinks that if “they [aspirants] go to the Steering Committee and it’s endorsed, they will bring it to NEC and if NEC also agrees, then, we are good to go.”
“I can be for or against, but if I don’t have the numbers, it can’t work and no individual can use force to change the minds of the majority. So, no individual can hijack the party because the majority decision will prevail over everything and that’s what the party needs,” Mr Sulemana emphasised.
It will be recalled that, in the 2008 NPP presidential primaries, 17 party stalwarts, including then candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo contested with no clear winner in the first round forcing the polls into a second round between President Nana Addo and Mr Alan Kyerematen, during which Mr Kyerematen withdrew and allowed Nana Akufo-Addo to represent the party in 2008 presidential.
Then comes 2010 when candidate Akufo-Addo and others in the party, wrote to the National Council for reforms to expand the party’s Electoral College and to be hosted at the regional level, hence reducing the possibilities of votes buying among others.
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