Politics of Thursday, 19 August 2004

Source: GNA

Eledi election is fait accompli - NPP Headquarters

Wa, Aug. 19, GNA - The election of Mr Clement Eledi, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for Wa Central Constituency is fait accompli, the General Secretary of NPP, Mr Dan Botwe has said.

He said Mr Eledi remained the only candidate, who had filed his papers at close of nominations following the withdrawal of Major Edward Yirimanbo (rtd) to become the Parliamentary Candidate for Wa West Constituency.

This should put paid to the wrangling between the Wa Central Constituency Executives and Upper West Regional Executives of the NPP, he said.

Mr Abdlai Safana, Wa Central Constituency Chairman of NPP, on Wednesday called a press conference in Wa to express his opposition to the Regional Executive's decision to reopen the nominations.

He instead called for the confirmation of Mr Eledi and warned that the Constituency Executives would reject any attempt by the Regional Chairman and a Section of the Regional Executive to carry out their plan of getting their favourite elected through the backdoor.

Mr Safana said last year, the Party opened nominations for interested persons to file as aspiring parliamentary candidates for the constituency, at the close of which, only Mr Eledi and Major Yirimanbo filed to contest the Wa Central Constituency primaries.

The Constituency Chairman said a committee set up by the National Executive Committee for that purpose duly vetted the two candidates and found them qualified to contest.

As Providence would have it, he said, the Wa West Constituency was carved out of the Wa Central Constituency alongside 29 others throughout the country and the development was seen as a solution to the acrimony that was likely to be generated in the Constituency, since Major Yirimanbo hailed from the newly created Constituency and naturally had to move there, leaving Mr Eledi as the sole candidate for Wa Central. Major Yirimanbo was subsequently acclaimed the Party's candidate for the Wa West Constituency.

He said instead of applying the same procedure to get Mr Eledi confirmed the Regional Chairman caused an announcement to be made on two local FM radio stations on Tuesday reopening nominations in the Wa Central Constituency.