NPP Congress: ‘Delegates to tick one, not five names’ – Ocquaye

The 787 delegates taking part in Sunday’s Super Delegates Congress – meant to reduce the number of flagbearer-aspirants of the main opposition New Patriotic Party from seven to five – are entitled to vote for only one of the seven contestants and not five of them, the party’s Constitutional and Legal Committee Chairman, Prof Mike Ocquaye has clarified.

In a statement copied to StarrFMonline.com, the former Deputy Speaker of Parliament asked party delegates and supporters to ditch a “misleading” statement attributed to his predecessor, Nii Ayikoi Otoo, that: “…The 787 delegates will have to tick five names on the ballot after which the results will be tallied and the successful candidates declared."

“This statement is totally wrong, false and misleading. It should not be allowed to stand for a moment. It should not be allowed to mislead any delegate of the party. Whoever is responsible for this false and baseless information should withdraw it from the public domain with an unqualified apology," Prof Ocquaye said.

“In the forthcoming election, Article 12 (7) (B) of the NPP Constitution reads in plain and simple English: ‘Where there is more than (1) contestant, each delegate will cast his or her vote by secret ballot for ONE of the contestants’ ”.

He said: “When certain persons tried to bring this strange idea of voting for five people, the undersigned came out with a clear reference to the Constitution to put the so-called “controversy” to rest. The aim was to avoid any confusion in our process.

“In its subsequent meeting the National Council of the NPP unanimously after a question had been asked and the General Secretary had reiterated the constitutional provision in clear terms, that “every delegate shall vote for only one person," the former flagbearer aspirant said.

He added: “This decision of the highest body aside the National Conference cannot be contradicted by any radio or other pronouncement as purported."

“As Chairman of the Constitutional and Legal Committee of the NPP I have a binding duty to make the position clear so that there will be NO confusion on Sunday. Any person who votes for more than one person will have his/her ballot spoilt. It cannot count. The peace and unity of the Party is paramount and any last minute confusion should be STOPPED."

“Each delegate is required by the NPP Constitution to choose ONE of the contestants as the person he/she prefers. It is the total number of votes each candidate gets that will determine who finally emerges on the list of five," the statement said.