THE MEMBER of Parliament (MP) for Talensi, John Akologo Tia is likely to witness a surprise in December as his own party foot soldiers lead a crusade to vote �skirt and blouse� style against him.
According to party youth, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was formed on the basic principles of probity and accountability which have over the years won a lot of support for the NDC.
They however feel that certain events during the January 21 primary in the constituency which led to Mr. Tia being maintained as NDC parliamentary candidate for the area, were an insult and in sharp contradiction of these noble principles.
They alleged that the primary was characterized by vote buying to manipulate the sovereign will of the masses with money, motorbikes and bicycles.
�The cry for change to a more dynamic and development oriented candidate, for an open leadership was evident in every nook and cranny of the constituency. Many of our grassroots loyalists held in-house meetings with delegates from their respective communities and warned that if honourable John Tia was retained as parliamentary candidate for the party, they would vote �skirt and blouse.��
The NDC youth who raised these issues at a press conference in Tongo said the selection of John Tia was not the true choice of the people which is why they booed and threw rice at him in protest when he was announced the winner at the Tongo Community Centre in the full glare of the media as well as Upper East Regional Minister, Mark Owen Woyongo.
They said over the years the MP had successfully created disunity, mistrust, rancor and bitterness among constituency party executives as well as other party faithful who have worked tirelessly to make Talensi a safe seat for the NDC.
�How can such a man give us victory when the party members are fed up with him and many are wishing his downfall in 2012 due to his attitude towards them?� the youth questioned.
�Our primary concern is that with these divisive tendencies, the party stands to lose the seat in the general elections on 7th December, 2012. The general opinion among party faithful is that they will vote �skirt and blouse� which means H.E President John Evans Atta Mills will win the presidential whilst the parliamentary goes to the opposition.�
The youth told the media that Mr. Tia�s attitude in the constituency will make campaigning difficult for the NDC, especially when they cannot point to any meaningful development that he has initiated or spearheaded in the area to justify his continuous stay in parliament.
They added: �We don�t know what the honourable John Tia uses his share of the Common Fund, NHIA Levy, the HIPC Funds and the GETFUND for since the NDC won power in 2009. We know that other MPs from other constituencies have used their share of these funds to the benefit of their people. The Tongo Health Centre which is the premier health facility in the constituency has also not seen any improvement since it was built during the Busia regime�.The question we ask is, what prevents honourable John Tia from using funds from these levies to improve upon this facility to save many lives in the constituency?�
<<Print>>