Kumasi, Dec. 24, GNA - The Ashanti Regional Executives of the Convention People's Party (CPP), have initiated move to punish its parliamentary candidates who have openly declared their support presidential candidates in the December 2008 run-off. The regional executives said they were conferring with the party's Central Committee to consider the issue.

Mr Samuel Danso, the CPP Regional Chairman, who told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi on Wednesday, said they had compiled the names of all offending candidates and forwarded them to the Central Committee for prompt action to be taken against them.

He said even though the party had not barred any of its members from voting for candidates of their choice in the run-off "what we are against is the open declaration being made by some CPP parliamentary candidates in the region that they support certain presidential candidates."

Mr Danso was not happy that as a result of this development certain political activists and analysts were now erroneously associating the entire CPP membership and executives with certain parties and presidential candidates in the region.

This, he said, contravened the earlier announcement made by the Central Committee to the effect that its members should try as much as possible to remain neutral and vote for a candidate of their choice in respect of the elections.

The Chairman stated that the CPP frowned on double allegiance on the part of its members since such actions and attitudes impeded efforts to build the party into a unified and independent body. On the future plans of the party, Mr Danso said, his outfit had intended to secure offices in all the constituencies in the region to help co-ordinate the activities of members for the progress of the party.

He added that in view of events unfolding ahead of the run-off, the regional executives would henceforth scrutinize the identity of people they elect as parliamentary candidates so that only genuine members would be mandated to represent the party.