Accra, April 11, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Friday extended its warmest felicitations to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on the occasion of its Parliamentary primaries scheduled for Saturday, April 30.

A statement issued in Accra by Mr James Asante, Director of Communications, of NDC said: 93We wish to remind the NPP and its Parliamentary aspirants and their supporters that the peaceful outcome of this exercise will be one of the yardsticks to measure our democratic maturity."

"We, therefore, urge the NPP leadership to seize this opportunity to ensure that the polls are conducted in a responsible manner to help sustain internal cohesion.

"The NDC is concerned about reports of disaffection and agitation among sections of party's followers in some constituencies for various reasons and these have the potential to mar the process. "It is our cherished hope that the NPP would take measures to intensify and strengthen mechanisms to deal with potential confrontations likely to rear their ugly heads in the identified flash points. This is to prevent a repeat of the spiral violence that characterised the party's Parliamentary primaries in parts of the country in 2007.

"The NDC commends the NPP on this occasion, and extends its fullest support to the largest opposition party in the country. It is our hope that the quality of candidates who would emerge after the primaries have the tendency to galvanise the NDC to give off a better performance in the 2012 elections," it added.