Dr Amakye Boateng, a political scientist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, has advised the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to make internal rules and regulations transparent and enforce them in order to stamp out the growing trend of their party members going independent.
He observed that the solution lies in the strict enforcement of the party’s rules and regulations to reverse the growing trend in future since politics in a democracy revolved around rules and regulations.
“The NPP should make their rules and regulations clear and transparent, especially in the area of their members desiring to become Members of Parliament, unfortunately some members of the party who lost the parliamentary primaries have decided to contest the party’s candidates in this year’s elections by going independent.
“This development has become a challenge for the party as it tries to forge a unified front in this year’s elections and the trend needs to be stopped as it undermines the efforts of the parliamentary candidates,” Dr Boateng cautioned.
He pointed out that it should be possible to stop this phenomenon of party members undermining Members of Parliament which should be stopped, however, rules and regulations should be well worked out with rank and file, when rules and regulations are known, understood by all, and they realise their implementation fairly, such issues will stop.
Meanwhile, an independent candidate, vying for the Nhyiaeso seat in the Ashanti Region, Ebo Gyebi, has called on the electorate to consider personalities instead of party affiliations so as to promote growth and development at constituency level and bemoaned over-concentration on partisanship instead of nation building.
He said he was leading a charge to change the narrative to foster sense of patriotism and nationalism and cautioned against tribes breaking away to from political parties due to lack of structures, saying, “That is not how a nation is built by leaving capable citizens who have something better to offer and most of us do not want to involve ourselves in party establishments where it becomes dirty.” -myjoyonline.com
