The national leadership of the New Patriotic Party says the party is feverishly preparing towards a successful delegates congress to elect a flagbearer on December 22 at the University of Ghana, Legon.

Briefing the media yesterday at the party’s headquarters in Accra, Peter Mac Manu, NPP National Chairman, said accommodation and transport for the delegates have been secured, security arrangements are in place and a media centre for journalists is ready.

The party has banned all presidential candidates from the old habit of bussing and ‘camping’ delegates before the congress day.

The Chairman also disclosed that the Vetting Committee, which was tasked to vet the eighteen presidential aspirants, completed its work yesterday and its report would be released soon, hopefully as early as Friday. Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey’s vetting yesterday ended the process.

Mr Mac Manu also announced, as exclusively revealed by The Statesman last month, that the election of delegates of all the constituencies to the December congress begins today, closing on Saturday December 8.

Touching on the stereotype that the NPP was an Akan party, the National Chairman said it was a ridiculous charge not borne out by either the electoral facts or the policies of the government.

He said the NPP was the only national party that had been consistently growing since 1992.

He refused to be dragged into the controversy generated by Kwame Amoako Tuffuor’s warning that the party would be doomed if it does not vote for Vice President Aliu Mahama, a Moslem from Yendi. Mr Mac Manu said it was the personal opinion of Dr Amoako Tuffuor, which was not reflective of the party’s own position.

According to him, NPP believes in internal democracy by which individuals are free to express their opinion but was optimistic that the party will come out of congress stronger, assuring, “what befell the NDC cannot happen to the NPP.” Meanwhile, all the eighteen NPP presidential aspirants will be given the platform to sell themselves and their campaign messages to party members on Sunday at Kasoa.

Just like at Nkawkaw in October 1998, the Kasoa rally is billed as a popularity contest for the aspirants.

While some are bound to bus more people to the rally ground than others due to the uneven sizes of pockets, observers will still be gauging the applauses from the general crowd as a more scientific popularity indicator. Each aspirant will be given five minutes to speak, our NPP sources say. The lineup will be done by a ballot. Our sources say that has already been done.