The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has banned Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) from contesting sitting NPP Member of Parliaments (MPs) for their seats.
Per the new rule, MMDCEs in the NPP administration that have interest in contesting sitting MPs for their parliamentary seats would have to resign from their posts three years before the elections.
The decision was taken by the National Council of the ruling political party, with strong backing from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
It is geared towards promoting party unity to enable the NPP to remain in power for many years.
President Akufo-Addo disclosed this to the party’s delegates during the NPP Extraordinary National Delegates Conference, which took place in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, on Sunday.
He said the NPP and he (Nana Akufo-Addo) had realized that ruling political parties in the country always suffer whenever MMDCEs contest sitting NPP MPs during primaries.
He stated that the NPP National Council came out with a new rule which would prevent MMDCEs from contesting sitting MPs in areas where the NPP has the seats.
President Akufo-Addo disclosed this while addressing thousands of NPP delegates during the party’s Extraordinary National Delegates Conference which took place at Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Region, yesterday.
He disclosed that opposition parties usually benefit from internal wrangling between ruling parties’ sitting MPs and MMDCEs and remove them (parties) from power.
“The NPP was first to benefit from this syndrome in our politics in 2000 where we took advantage of NDC’s internal fights between MMDCEs and MPs and won political power that year.
“In 2008 when the NPP was also in power, the same internal fights between sitting MPs and MMDCEs also created cracks in our party and the NDC took advantage of it and defeated us.
“In 2016, the same thing, coupled with the Mills, Mahama and Rawlings factions in the NDC, also contributed to help the NPP, led by me, to defeat the then ruling NDC during the polls,” he disclosed.
President Akufo-Addo stated that it was important for the NPP to learn from history and take wise and commendable decisions that would help the party to remain in political power for a long time.
“That is why I back the decision to ban the DCEs from contesting the sitting MPs; they (MMDCEs) can only contest them (MPs) if they resign from their positions three years ahead of the elections.
President Akufo-Addo stated that the NPP doesn’t want its MMDCEs to destroy the base of the party, which is the NPP’s strength due to their hankering to become MPs.
He said the new rule also prohibits national party officers such as the chairman, general secretary and treasurer from contesting the presidential candidate, adding that the move is to ensure peace in the party.
President Nana Akufo-Addo also stated that the same rule also forbids regional and constituency executives such as chairman, secretary and treasurer from contesting sitting MPs in their areas.
He disclosed that some party faithful in various parts of the country were calling for the new rule to be extended to other regional, constituency and government appointees.
The president stated “this will be a radical measure, which needs the support of conference as a duly passed amendment, we need to consider this in a proper manner.”
Party stalwarts such as Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, Freddie Blay, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, ministers of state, MMDCEs and other members of the NPP were present at the successful conference.
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