Leader of the majority group in Parliament, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, has advised leadership of the New Patriotic Party to learn lessons from the outcome of the 2020 elections which made some incumbent Members of Parliament (MP) lose seats to the National Democratic Congress.
Speaking at the Annual National delegates conference in Kumasi, Mr. Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said the party was not built on polarization but on democratic credentials which they hold in high esteem and therefore “one direction” leadership must not be encouraged.
Making reference to the 2020 elections he admonished the party to be guided by the just ended elections which saw some of the key MPs losing their seats not only in the Ashanti region but some other regions too.
Sighting polarization as one of the cankers holding down the party he said:
“As a party, we should confront the reality and not pretend that everything is right with us. The conduct of elections at all levels of the party is increasingly polarizing the party. It appears those who should lead are looking elsewhere.
“We should do serious introspection into the things that are holding us down. If we are able to unleash the full potentials of our party, the other parties will find it extremely difficult to create space for themselves in contemporary Ghanaian politics.”
Mr Kyei Mensah-Bonsu called on the party to stick to the democratic principles on which the NPP was birthed to make way for others to lead.
“As I have been insisting in our previous conferences, further interrogation into article 55 (9) of the 1992 constitution should lead to a conclusion that the selection of party officers doesn’t need to be solely by election.
“We must explore other means which the parties in the more established democracies resort to including consensus, acclamation, persuasion and even rotation.”
He warned against inducement of delegates and said the party’s constitution frowns it.
