Accept proposed NPP’s constitutional amendment

THE Association of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Polling Station Executives in the Greater Accra Region has called on the participants in forthcoming national conference to endorse the proposed amendment to the party’s constitution to expand the electoral college.
According to the association, the enlargement was the only way by which the party’s foot soldiers could be part of the decision making process, as well as ensure that any person elected for any position at all levels in the party structure would have been selected by majority of the foot soldiers.
This was contained in a petition signed by Mr Emmanuel Ayisi Ahwireng, a member of the group, and presented to the General Secretary of the party, Nana Ohene Ntow, at the party’s headquarters in Accra yesterday.
Clad in NPP T-shirts and other party articles of clothing, the group, made up of polling station executives and some supporters of the party, marched through some streets of Asylum Down in Accra before converging on the party headquarters to present the petition.
Backed by brass band music, the group also carried placards some of which read: “NPP’s future lies in expansion of electoral college”, “Enemies of expansion are enemies of NPP”, “All must embrace expansion of electoral college”, “Delegates, please vote for expansion”, “Victory in 2012 is in expansion”, “Delegates, listen to foot soldiers”, “Allow us the foot soldiers to be part of the decision making process” and “Expansion will ensure people’s choice”.
According to the petition, the expansion would ensure that any flag bearer elected would become popular throughout the country, adding, “Therefore, the process of marketing him to the party faithful and the entire nation would become less cumbersome.
“It will drastically reduce the use of money to influence delegates, especially during election of presidential and parliamentary candidates and also foot soldiers, and supporters will contribute generously towards the uplift of the party since they will see themselves as owners of the party,” it said.
The petition added that acceptance of the proposed amendment would make party executives at all levels popular, respected and assertive since they would represent the true choice of the people and also make the party popular on the ground because all elections in the party would be held at the various constituencies.
It said that the move would bring sanity and co-operation among constituency executives since all of them would be entitled to cast their votes, unlike the previous arrangement where some were selected, creating bitterness among some party members.
 ”The party’s foot soldiers will have a sense of belonging and work assiduously to return the party to power. It will also relieve constituency chairpersons and the executives from the burden of selecting only 10 delegates for the regional, national and flag bearer elections,” the petition said.
Receiving the petition, Nana Ohene Ntow urged the party’s foot soldiers to be cautious and law-abiding in all their utterances and behaviour concerning the amendment because any divisive move would offer the opponents of the NPP weapons to fight the party.
He reminded the party members that the forthcoming national delegates conference was purely a family matter, which should be treated as such.
The NPP General Secretary explained that as per the NPP constitution, all the proposed amendments received from the members must be circulated to all party members, which has been done.
What was left, he said, was the delegates conference, which would be held on Saturday at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra.
According to Nana Ohene Ntow, all the processes had been followed and so the petition presented by the Polling Station Executives in the Greater Accra Region could not form part of it, but assured the petitioners that it would be presented to the Steering Committee of the party for consideration.