Felix Kwakye Ofosu
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
Former Deputy Information Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has condemned some leaders of the National Democratic Congress for what he said were their direct interference in the party’s just-ended primaries.
Accusing some of the leaders of interfering in the election at the constituency level, Mr Ofosu who spoke on PM Express on JoyNews, said that these actions could bring divisions to the party.
He explained that aspirants who lost the bid to represent their constituencies in the 2024 general elections would feel slighted and would not lend themselves to the development of the party going forward.
Mr Ofosu Kwakye said on Monday that “It is not unusual to have a situation where, based on one or two considerations, the party believes that this candidate is preferable to another. In instances like that what you use is dialogue to impress upon the person who will be adversely affected, as to why it is necessary to make that sacrifice. But if you do not do that and you attempt to sidestep or skew the process in a manner that makes it unfair, then you are going to have some difficulties.”
“Because anybody who loses an election and feels that the process was not fair, it was not balanced and that things were done in a manner to undermine his or her chances has a difficulty lending themselves to any reconciliatory process,” Mr Ofosu indicated.
He explained that the powers that be at the national leadership should live up to their responsibilities and act in ways that help advance the interest of the party.
Mr Ofosu, who won the Abura Asebu-Kwamankese candidacy on Saturday, stated that “I had a challenge with a national organiser and it resulted in some controversy but what business did a national organiser have interfering in a constituency election like that, and it’s not the only place he is accused of that.”
He called for the leadership at the national level to crack the whip on some of these actions explaining that if people are not called to order, reconciling the party especially calling on MPs who lost their candidacy could be a challenge.
“Consensus building is the best form of democracy but it does not make it seem that merely because you have power at the national level you are going to sidestep the process, treat someone unfairly and expect that they will come and bother, I expect the reconciliatory process to be deeper not superficial or shallow, people have been offended.”
“I expect the national leadership to take a serious view of this, that going forward they will put in place structures that make it impossible for people occupying such positions to interfere to poke their noses in that manner in constituencies that have such contests going on,” Mr Ofosu added.
Meanwhile, the Deputy National Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande has urged Mr Ofosu Kwakye and other MPs who have grievances to channel them to the party leadership officially so they could help unite the party ahead of the 2024 elections.
“The efforts of the National Executive Committee is to address the concerns of elected members and how to bring up those who have lost the elections so we can move together as a family,” he said on Top Story on Tuesday.
He added that “NEC headed by the chairman is positioned to reconcile the party alongside the flagbearer to see that we have a united from going into 2024. We are neither for nor against conflict, they will always be part of politics. When it comes, our role is to give each of the persons a fair hearing.”
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
