PNC members express concern over August 31 congress date, fees

A group of concerned members of the People's National Convention (PNC) has written to the national chairman to express their concern over the recently announced schedule and fees for the party's national congress.

The signatories, including a former national chairman of the party, Bernard Mornah, and the 2020 flag bearer aspirants, Samson Asaki Awingobit and Rev. Samuel Adjei Debra, argued that the August 31, 2024 date for the congress was too close to the December 7 general election, leaving them with only 89 days for effective execution.
Reasons

The letter dated June 19, 2024 and copied to the Chairman of the PNC Council of Elders, Colonel George Bayebor, said “the timelines of August 31, 2024 seems too far, looking at the time left for the general election, and that third or fourth week of August for congress will not help the party because the Electoral Commission will open nominations in September, and that will give us undue pressure.”

They said the announced fees were too high for a party that struggled to support marginalised communities, contradicting the party's values.

Additionally, the date conflicts with the Annual Homowo Festival of the Ga-Adangbe people from the Greater Accra Region, making it difficult for members from that region to participate.

The group further pointed out the lack of guidelines accompanying the announcement and the absence of a clear nomination process. They appealed to the National Chairman of the party to address the issues and remedy the shortcomings in the earlier communication.

Recall

The PNC on June 13, 2024 issued a statement to announce the opening of nominations, the cost of forms and filing fees for aspiring presidential candidates. The party also gave up to August 31, 2024 to complete its primaries to contest in this year’s elections. It announced that the cost of the filing fees for persons interested in leading the party in the election as the flag bearer was GH¢100,000.