Compelling Your Aspirants Not to Run as Independent Candidates Won't Work - NPP Told
Atik Mohammed says the undertaking by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to its presidential aspirants to commit themselves to support whoever is elected flagbearer for the party and a caution not to run as independent candidate lacks the "force of law" for any aspirant to comply with the directive.
A statement issued and signed by the NPP General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, outlined the dos and don'ts for the aspirants as the party heads into their Special Delegates Congress and subsequently their main primary to elect their Presidential candidate for the 2024 elections.
The aspirants are mandated to sign an undertaking waiving their right to contest the 2024 elections on the ticket of another political party nor run as an independent candidate after the NPP congress.
"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," parts of the statements read.
But to Atik Mohammed, this order won't work, explaining every person has the right to join or form a party or stand as independent candidate.
To him, the best the NPP can and should do is to focus on ways to rebuild the party post-primaries.
"I doubt if someone feels to leave after the elections, this cannot bind the person. If the person wants to leave, he will leave. So, what the party should be focused more on doing is to look at the ways to ensure that, at the end of this family dispute, there will be no successions or people who will defect to form their own parties or they will decide that they will run independent," he told Kwami Sefa Kayi during Friday edition of "Kokrokoo" show on Peace FM.
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