Some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the New Edubiase Constituency in the Ashanti region have vowed not to vote for the party in the impending elections.
The group at a press conference said they will not vote for the party’s Parliamentary candidate, Abdul Salam Adams if the leadership in the constituency does not change him.
The group calling itself the Aggrieved NDC Members in New Edubiase who claim to number over five thousand said they would rather vote for the candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) than vote for the NDC Parliamentary candidate.
The NPP candidate is the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the areas who is also a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, George Boahen Oduro.
They claimed at the press conference that the candidate was imposed on the nine hundred and thirty six (936) delegates of the NDC in the constituency.
This, they said is an affront on democracy and hence insisted that they won’t cast ballots for him in the December elections.
At a press conference led by the group’s Chairman, George Mensah who also doubles as constituency Director of Election in the NDC said the imposition is in breach of Article 46 Clause 8 of the NDC constitution.
“This is a breach of Article 46 clause (8) section b of the NDC constitution which frowns upon anti-party conduct that interfere and that put the party in ridicule, hatred or contempt against the current crop of the party’s executives in the constituency and the candidate, Mr Abdul Salam himself,” he read.
He further claimed that the executives and the 2020 Parliamentary Candidate during the 2016 Elections preached ‘skirt and blouse’ and also paid ‘losing bonuses’ after the ten MP, Ernest Kofi Yakah.
“As a group, we have pondered thoroughly over the misunderstanding that has engulfed the party in the constituency and decided to do the honourable thing considering the article 46 of the NDC Constitution and its implications.
“In light of this, the group deems it highly to stay away from the party to enable them re-launch and embark the journey of skirt and blouse that was born four years ago (2016) in the New Edubiase Constituency which saw our first and ever lost of the parliamentary seat”, the statement read in part.
The New Edubiase Constituency until 2016 had been a stronghold of the opposition NDC in the Ashanti region but lost the seat for the first time since 1992 to the NPP.
Several visits to the constituency in 2016, the construction of New Edusiase Town Roads and a sports stadium by the then President and flag bearer of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama could not help the parliamentary candidate, Ernest Kofi Yakah to win a fourth term.
The NPP won the seat for the first time with George Boahen Oduro polling 18,477 representing 56.47% of valid votes cast against NDC’s Ernest Kofi Yakah’s 14,050 representing 42.94%.
The group has vowed to extend the margin between the NPP and the NDC by 10,000 votes if the opposition party goes ahead with Abdul Salam Adams as its parliamentary candidate for the 2020 elections; they would however vote for the party’s presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama.
