Fostering Democracy in NPP

The allegation of doctoring the constituency register in the Eastern region threatens the legitimacy of the August 7 NPP primaries. The charged brought by Maxwell Kofi Jumah the MP for Asokwa has two possible implications for NPP going into the 2012 general elections.

Firstly, left unproven it would tag adversely on the NPP’s electoral honesty, notably if Nana Akuffo-Addo the intended target emerged the party’s candidate. Secondly, it leaves the party and its flag bearer deficient of electoral integrity.

Kofi Jumah’s support for Alan Kyeremanten’s candidacy makes his claim a political incrimination devoid of any reliability. He failed to provide any evidence of the said fraud taking place in the party beyond stating where it was being perpetrated, the Eastern region.

You don’t have to be an expert to detect the link of the alleged orchestration to Nana Akuffo-Addo’s campaign. The claim left unsubstantiated, becomes an electoral capital for the Alan camp where Kofi Jumah’s political interest resides.

Unless he is able to provide verifiable evidence, Kofi Jumah’s charge should be called out for what it is---a made up lie design to cast doubts on probable victory for Nana Addo.

It is imperative to press Kofi Jumah to supply proves of electoral fraud in the Eastern region and identify the perpetrators. It is not enough to churn out such serious and politically damaging charges and, come home to party.

It would interest Ghanaians, if Kofi Jumah and parties to the news conference to make public their knowledge of the fraud they witnessed, because the country is invested in the process leading to the nomination of a potential future president.

The upcoming meeting with party elders should dig deep into the veracity of the claim of electoral malpractice and take steps to correct any inconsistencies potentially able to cast aspersions on the credibility of the eventual winner.
The respective campaigns should be cautioned to desist from making such carefree charges likely to jeopardize the party’s chances in the 2012 general elections.