Obed Asamoah to run for president?

After surviving a stormy congress in April this year when the party nearly came apart amidst wrangling and recriminations within the hierarchy, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is set to go through yet another schism.

This time around, the man whose candidature for the Chairmanship of the party generated such storm back in April. Dr Yao Obed Asamoah is rumoured to have his eyes set on the flagbearership of the party.

Sources within the party hierarchy hinted” The Evening News" that a lot of political maneuvering is going on within the Obed camp, which makes the speculation look almost a reality.

Although official nominations for the race will open by the end of August when a formal announcement is expected from the Obed camp, party executives are getting jitters from the man's activities which "they have witnessed before".

Insiders say within the past few weeks, the national chairman has embarked on a criss?cross tour of some constituencies and this has further led to the wide spread speculation within the inner circles of the NDC that Dr Asamoah was interested in the fiagbearership come what may.

"He himself is yet to deny or confirm this speculation, although he has every opportunity to end this rumour once and for all", a national executive member of the party told The Evening News.

Another official source said, "there are a few things happening, behind the scene ? but if Obed decides to stand, it is up to him to make or break the party".

But when "The Evening News" contacted Dr Asamoah on the issue, he was dodgy and non?committal, saying the paper could publish any rumour it had heard and that there was nothing to deny or confirm about the issue.

Gurus within the party taciturn manner, Dr Asamoah told the paper he was not ready to grant any interview on the issue. The gurus claimed that the recent visits of the party chairman to Sunyani and Koforidua where he addressed party activists drawn from the northern and southern sector respectively were "an exercise to test the grounds".

'Who knows whether a recent publication in an Accra private newspaper that Professor Atta Mills was no longer interested in the flagbearership was another tactical maneuver to test the ground for an Obed bid,” the source added.

Meanwhile the party’s general secretary, Dr. Nii Josiah Aryeh has hinted that any national executive who intends to put forward his name for the forthcoming presidential primaries must resign his position six clear months before the election date.

This directive if effectively carried out would rule out any executive member including chairman Dr. Asamoah from the race, since the congress is barely four months away.

The party is scheduled to hold presidential primaries at a national congress in December this year, as mandated by the party’s constitution which states that the election should be held two clear years before any general elections.

In a statement issued in Accra, the general secretary explained that the decision for interested national executives to resign before the primaries was part of recommendations put forward by the Huudu Yahaya Committee tasked with the job of providing guidelines for the party’s congress later this year.

The reason for the directive is for a level playing field to be created for all the interested candidates.

“No democratic institution can tolerate the possibilities for interference and manipulation created when party executives choose to interfere in contests in which they are both participants and supervisors,” the statement said.

According to Dr. Aryeh, detailed regulations to govern nomination and election of a flagberarer were being discussed, adding that the conclusion of the process would formally lead to aspirants being asked to come forward.

The general secretary noted that the Huudu Yahaya Committee’s report further recommended that any member of good standing was eligible to stand, provided he satisfied the relevant rules and regulations. Such a member could collect and complete forms. He then appears in person before congress and convinces party representatives.

Dr. Aryeh stated that apart from being of good standing, the aspiring candidates must be registered card-holding members of a branch. Any aspirant must be identified with a branch for a specific number of years and should be working for the development of the constituency.

Meanwhile, the Functional Executive Committee is expected this week to study the Huudu Yahaya Committee’s report.

All functional executives have been given copies of the report for careful study. Should the functional executive approve the report by consensus, it will be submitted to the National Executive Council (NEC), which will meet in mid-August on its approval. An announcement will then be made for official opening of nominations should the report receive approval.

As regards, talks with political parties, the General Secretary stated that the NDC’s position was clear and unequivocal. Previously, the Party Consultative Committee and the National Executive Committee (NEC) undertook all negotiations towards alliances and mergers. However, certain amendments to the party’s constitution adopted at the last congress made it obligatory that the Council of Elders and National Executive Committee be consulted prior to the initiation of any alliance and must be involved in the entire process. “I am unaware and I have never been a party to any talks by the NDC with the named individuals or political parties.”

“As far as I know, neither the NEC or the Council of Elders has been involved in any such process.” Dr. Aryeh explained that approaches to individuals to consider joining or returning to the party were purely at personal levels. He said an approach to a prominent individual should in his view, not be deeply differentiated from attempts by an ordinary member to join the party. “The question of return, ought not therefore undue excitement.”