We must clean up the NDC - Rawlings

Former President Jerry Rawlings says the grassroots of the party must take back the party by insisting the NDC enlarges its electoral college for electing national, regional, constituency and ward executives, as well as a Presidential Candidate.

He said: “Others may have initiated that method, but we can do better and come up with a larger and more representative electoral college. We should have done that a long time ago. Those of our officers and executives with integrity must support this reform and should have nothing to fear. Let us not do anything to undermine the attempts to hand back the party to its people. To undermine it will be risking the life of the NDC. The NDC must get into the hands of its power base”.

The NDC Founder noted that: “Our party, the NDC, needs some significant reforms to face the challenges of the dynamic global political climate. Our current internal structures need to be reviewed.

“I do not think the necessary reform required in order to clean up the image of the party are being treated with the urgency it required,” he bewailed, and warned that: “If we do not act in cleaning up the party, we will, as I warned before, face a challenge in 2016”.

Mr. Rawlings, who was at Dzodze in the Volta region on Saturday for the Palm festival (Deza), told the thousands of supporters gathered at festival grounds that it was high time they pushed for drastic reforms in the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) before the 2016 general elections.

“The time has come to enlarge the electoral college of the NDC, so a larger group of people, which is a better representation of various local communities, can elect officers of the party all the way to the flag bearer".

According to him, "NDC’s decision should not come from only 20,000 people…give us 150,000”.

“Maintain the 20,000 and see what will happen to you in this country in 2016”, Mr Rawlings warned.

He said: “Your victory will come from taking back your party... an expansion of the electoral college, the voting power!"

Mr. Rawlings also urged supporters of the NDC to help President John Mahama tackle corruption in his government.

He said there is the need for an all-hands-on deck approach in fighting corruption in the Mahama administration.

According to him, the president can only succeed: “if we help to expose the weaknesses in his government and offer concrete advice in policy implementation initiatives. There is no point in voting for the president and government and sitting waiting for Accra. We have an equal responsibility to help develop your country than refusing and sitting on the fence doing nothing”.