Accra, May 20, GNA - Mr Kwabena Appiah-Pinkrah, Member of Parliament for Akrofuom in the Ashanti Region, on Tuesday called for the strengthening of conflict resolution mechanisms within the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to address disputes after the party's primaries. He said such struggles and conflicts were natural of a true and democratic party, and also showed that the party was a vibrant one for which people wanted to associate and be identified with.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at the Parliament House in Accra, the legislator who was recently re-elected at the party's constituency primary to contest the seat, said special arrangements could be made to deal with disputes at the primaries to protect the unity of the party towards the forthcoming general elections. Mr Appiah-Painkrah won the primary by a margin of 41-9 against his main contender, Mrs Comfort Ampong.

The MP said he was grateful for the manner in which his opponent accepted defeat.

"The day after the elections, I went to her house to thank her for the manner in which she accepted defeat and encouraged her," he said. He promised to work with Mrs Ampong and other party faithful to support the efforts of the party's flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to win a resounding victory in the December elections. Mr. Appiah-Pinkrah, who is also a development consultant, said politics was a human resource job which required care for people and willingness to work with all stakeholders. He praised the party for its conflict resolution channels and added that the successful handling of the resignation of Mr Alan Kyerematen was evidence of the maturity of the party. 20 May 08