Asiedu-Nketia "Reprimands" Volta Region NDC

Mr Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has �reprimanded� the Volta Region branch of the Party for presiding over the �breaking of a very important record.� �It is a very important record you have broken,� he said in relation to the outcome of the limited voter registration exercise in the Region. Mr Asiedu-Nketia was addressing delegates to the Party�s delegates� Conference in Ho to elect new Regional Executives. He said records provided by the Electoral Commission showed that 34,000 eligible voters got registered in the latest limited voter registration exercise in the Region. Mr Asiedu-Nketia said that deviated from what the Region was noted for, citing figures from Greater Accra, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo and Northern regions, where 70,000 to 80,000 and above got registered. �Whether 52,000 or 34,000 it is not good,� Mr Nketia remarked when party officials told him the figure was 52,000. He said whenever such figures went up in the Greater Accra Region those of the Volta Region went down. He said he was happy that the Party recorded about one million members during its biometric registration exercise in the Region. The delegates elected Mr John Kwadwo Gyapong, a former Member of Parliament for Akan as the new Volta Regional Chairman of the Party. Mr Gyapong took over from Mr Kwasi Aboagye, who did not contest, having polled 176 votes to beat four other contenders. Mr Mawutor Agbavitor, 101 votes and former MPs Mr Kwasi Kedem, Dr Kwame Ampofo and Capt George Nfodjo (rtd), had single digit votes. Mr Asiedu-Nketia, the General Secretary of the Party, directed the new Executives to co-opt more women into their fold to reflect the NDC�s Social Democratic principles. The Regional Women�s Organizer and her two deputies were the only women elected into the new 16-member Executives, described by Mr Asiedu-Nketia as contrary to the Social Democratic principles of the Party. He said proposals for amending the Party�s constitution included the expansion of its National Executive Committee to include Regional Organizers, Women Organizers and Youth Organizers. Mr Asiedu-Nketia said automatic membership of all cabinet members in the NEC would be reconsidered because of the possibility of non-members of the Party being appointed to cabinet positions in future.