Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Majority Leader
The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has proposed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) allows its incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) to contest the 2023 primaries unopposed.
He believes the selection process does not necessarily have to be by an election, which he said “has often times turned acrimonious.”
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who made the proposal at the NPP National Delegatess Conference over the weekend in Kumasi, added that the attempt by some elements within the party to remove incumbent MPs, including first-time legislators, is unfortunate.
The Majority Leader said such negative activities distract the focus of MPs and negatively affects their attendance in Parliament, which turns out to impact negatively on the transaction of government business.
Proposal, consideration
He said the party at the national level should own the process of selecting candidates to avoid any derailment in the forward march of the party.
“In this regard, I want to propose to the party that the constituencies should be encouraged, to the largest extent possible, to adopt the incumbent MPs for the purpose of the next general elections as any free-for-all election that is not guided or guarded will take over our great party,” he said.
He added that the inability of the party to protect the very experienced and astute MPs is unhealthy to the growth and development of the NPP.
“The New Patriotic Party lost 28 seats to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 general elections. Twenty-one of them are either ministers, ministers of state or deputy ministers. Four MPs retired, including Anthony Akoto Osei of Tafo Pankrono, Kwabena Appiah Pinkrah of Akrofuom, Ziblim Iddi of Gushegu and Shirley Ayorkor Botchway of Anyaa Sowutuom.
“In total, the NPP lost 92 MPs out of their 137 in the current Parliament. That is aside from the 41 who lost the NPP primaries ahead of the parliamentary polls. The Parliamentary Party currently is at its brink, and if the 2023 parliamentary primaries is not handled well, it may spell doom for the party,” he said.
The National Council of the party has been mandated to consider about 38 proposed amendments to its constitution.
According to the Majority Leader, although Article 55 of the 1992 Constitution dictates that the internal organisation of political parties shall conform to democratic principles, the same constitution does not bar the NPP from choosing its members of the National Executive Committee.
The Suame MP added that the NPP’s internal elections had created factionalism and tore the party apart over the years.
He therefore urged the party to explore other means to which parties in more established democracies resort, including consensus, acclamation, persuasion, and even rotations.
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