After being in opposition for only seven months, a change of name has been suggested by the leadership of the main opposition party New Patriotic Party (NPP) as one of many measures to enable it recapture power in the 2012 Parliamentary and Presidential elections.

The change of the party's name, which will be from New Patriotic Party to National Patriotic Party, forms part of a number of constitutional amendments undertaken by the party's leadership recently in order to correct and strengthen the party's structures for the 2012 general elections.

Although the party's, proposed constitutional amendment sighted by the Ghanaian Observer (GO) did not assign any reason for change of the party's name, the Member of Parliament for Asokwa, Kofi Jumah, has expressed strong reservations about the change.

In an exclusive interview with GO on certain proposed amendments, the Asokwa MP said the party's name never accounted for its electoral defeat, for which reason no one should attempt to change it. He has suggested that as much as the NPP's constitution needs review, the process should at the end of the day reflect views and suggestions of the ordinary party member, rather than a strict document which will serve only few members. "The party is for Ghanaians and therefore anything we do, we must make sure that a large number of them benefit from it.

“Well, it is good we amend our constitution to position the party better for the upcoming election, but we consider the ordinary party member first because at the end of the day politics is also about numbers," he maintained. Mr Jumah, otherwise known as "Kofi Ghana", further stressed that the recommendation in the party's proposed amendment, which states that an MP can run for any executive office in his or her constituency is a recipe for chaos and manipulation.

"Can you imagine when an MP is the same Constituency Chairman? Obviously, the person will manipulate everything to his or her benefit and this will surely bring a lot of problems for the party at the local and national level. I think this must be avoided." He further argued that as the party which prides itself in democracy, appointments of party officers should never be encouraged as recommended in the proposed amendment of its constitution.

This will generate unnecessary political frictions and conflicts in the various constituencies, he opined, saying that "cannot demonstrate the great democratic credentials of the party so I will not prescribe to this amendment at all." He said the various officers should be elected and their positions well defined in order to avoid unnecessary political tension, as is the case in the 1992 Constitution of the country, where the roles of the President, Vice-President, Speaker of Parliament and MPs are well defined.

Again, Mr Jumah described as a laudable idea an attempt to limit the aspiring Presidential candidates of the party to three persons. In case of any eventuality when the party receives more than three candidates, he said, the party leadership should put in place an effective mechanism to deal with any aggrieved persons, who may be disqualified in the selection process.

'''This is very important because what if the aggrieved persons decide to go independent? This can go a long way to affect the party negatively, especially in opposition," he said.

The MP for Asokwa, however, charged the party leadership to take a critical look at the party's old constitution which was used in two consecutive elections in 2000 and 2004 elections. Mr Jumah urged that the rank and file of the party should have their say when it comes to issues involving the party but not to have things rushed down their throats.