The Director of Elections and Research for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Evans Nimako has emphatically stated that the party’s leadership is committed to ensuring a transparent and fair process in the upcoming parliamentary primaries.
He made it clear that no parliamentary aspirants will receive special treatment or protection.
Mr Nimako assured that, the internal elections will be conducted with utmost fairness, ruling out any imposition of candidates.
In an interview with Citi TV, he emphasised the party’s intention to be deliberate in the processes, ensuring that no criteria are overlooked, so as to maintain a level playing field for all aspirants.
“In accordance with our constitution, the NPP either selects or elects candidates for these constituencies. This process involves broad consultations with the party at the constituency level.”
“The negative impact of imposition is well recognised, and therefore, it is not part of the arrangements the party has made for these constituencies. We are open, and we invite all those who consider themselves eligible to meet the criteria for becoming MPs.”
“Nevertheless, the party will not automatically approve every applicant. I assure you that we will adhere to the dictates of our constitution and the 1992 constitution. Our guidelines ensure that before participating in the contest, candidates must meet the criteria. While we won’t prevent anyone from contesting, we will be intentional. Meeting the criteria is imperative.”
Scheduled for Saturday, December 2, 2023, the party is set to conduct polls to select parliamentary candidates in orphan constituencies. Furthermore, the selection of parliamentary candidates in constituencies with incumbent MPs is anticipated to take place in January 2024.
To reinforce the integrity and fairness of the electoral process, the National Secretariat of the NPP released additional guidelines for the parliamentary primaries in orphan constituencies on November 24.
