A Stateman and former Chief Executive for Ga West Municipality, Nana Bram Okae II, has warned the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) not to take things for granted that the 2020 general election is a done deal for the party.

According to him, some party bigwigs and other executives think that the 2020 election is a done deal for which reason, “they are taking things for granted but the real fact is that it is not.”

Nana Bram said in 2008 when the then President J A Kufour was exiting power and everybody thought candidate Nana AddoDankwaAkufo-Addo was going to win the election because of the crowds at rallies such as the case in Tamale, where it took him more than three hours to move from the Temale Stadium to the township, but the opposite happened and opposition candidate Prof. J E A Mills won the presidency.

He added that in 2016, another case happened when then-President John D.Mahama went to the Accra Sports Stadium for a rally, and the crowd at that time suggested that National Democratic Congress was winning the election but lost it miserably.

Speaking to the DAILY HERITAGE, Nana Bram said the ongoing vetting in the party and the disqualification of certain party members who wants to contest incumbent Members of Parliament and the attitude of some party executives were questionable.

“I am not happy about the development in the party because I hold the view that in democracy, everybody should be allowed to speak his or her mind and also anybody who wants to contest any member in the party must be allowed to do so,” he stated.

The statesman said at this point, any aspirant who has satisfied the basic requirements in the party, including paying of dues, being a resident in the area or a card-bearing member, should not be stopped by some party executives but rather let the delegates decide.

A situation where you deliberately restrict some candidates in favor of others is a sign of breeding apathy, which, he said, would translate the real numbers in the general elections.

“Anybody who wants to contest any incumbent MP must be allowed to do so because in the long run, it is the delegates who will decide and not some party executives or the vetting committee but some are doing so to protect certain MPs,” he stated.

He said when it comes to that, followers of such people will develop apathy towards the party, citing a 2016 case between NiiNoi and Philip Addison in theKlotteyKorley Constituency, where NiiNoi was legally sacked for Addison to contest, with consequent happenings affecting the fortunes of the party.

Nana Bram has, therefore, called on party executive not to disqualify anybody but rather allow them to context and be careful about how to handle issues of the disqualification so they don’t affect the chances of the party retaining power.