NPP: Free, fair election will prevent defeated candidates from leaving - Lecturer

A political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Abdul-Jalilu Ateku has urged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to conduct a free and fair presidential primary on November 4 to ensure that all contestants are content with the outcome.

He said if that was done, there will not be the need for any aspirant to leave the NPP after the polls.

He added that an aspirant may still choose to resign from the party if he perceives the election as not being conducted in a free and fair manner.

His call comes after the four presidential contestants in Saturday's NPP primary signed an undertaking to accept the outcome of election results on Thursday November 2.

The four aspirants are Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, former Minister of Food and Agriculture,r Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, former MP for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh and Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong.

The decision was reached at a meeting between the National Council of Elders of the party and the aspirants.

At a press briefing after the meeting with the contestants, the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Kodua Frimpong said the aspirants have also agreed to accept the results of the primary and to put the interest of the party first.

But in an interview with Accra based Citi News, Dr. Ateku said “If political parties want to keep people, then they must do things that will make the party attractive, rather than trying to force people. So, if the NPP is asking contestants to sign an undertaking so that they will not leave. I think it’s something that will not hold.”

“People will still leave if they do not organise credible elections. And people lose and they realise that they lost because someone procured the elections fraudulently, people will leave, and they cannot do anything about it,” he stated.

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