The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Upper East Region has issued a stern warning against conduct that will impede the elections of the party’s newly elected parliamentary candidates in next year’s polls.
Regional Secretary of the party, Donatus Akamukre says the party will mete out severe punishment to members found working against any of its parliamentary candidates for the 2024 Elections.
Mr. Donatus said this in response to an assertion by a listener of Dreamz FM that members of the party particularly incumbent MPs who are disgruntled about the outcome of the party’s recently held primaries may wage a campaign against the bids of its candidates.
But the Regional Secretary stated “the party will crack the disciplinary whip against anybody who happens to say that he has to sidestep the party’s rules, they would not be permitted to do that. Applying the party’s rules, everybody will fall in line”.
Making reference to the ‘Lai Lai’ group which emerged in the Bongo Constituency after the party’s 2015 primaries and waged a campaign against its then parliamentary candidate for the area, Mr. Donatus said leadership of the party then took punitive measures against members of the group and will take similar action against any person or group of persons within it whose conduct is at variance with its interest.
“Those who came up with ‘Lai Lai’ when they lost elections, they were not spared by the party. They were punished, they were suspended. I was the one who executed it and I’m still the regional secretary. So anybody who comes up in that direction will also be met with similar measure,” he affirmed.
The just concluded primaries of the NDC appear to have deepened cracks within the opposition party in some constituencies.
In the Bongo Constituency for instance, the Member of Parliament there, who lost the party’s ticket to legal practitioner, Charles Bawa Dua, has reportedly failed to congratulate the latter.
He is also reported to have declined Mr. Bawa Dua’s phone calls when he attempted to reach out to him.
This, if not addressed timely, political watchers say, could affect the fortunes of the party especially those of its parliamentary candidates in the 2024 polls.
