The twice-defeated flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has been exposed by Daniel Bugri Naabu, the Northern Regional Chairman of NPP who contrary to the rules of the party doubles also as the chief campaigner for the Akufo-Addo campaign in the Northern Region.
In a meeting that he sanctioned with organisers in the region at his residence in Tamale, Mr. Bugri Naabu stated without mincing words that he has instituted a 3-member committee to investigate and fish-out delegates of the party who voted against his boss Nana Akufo-Addo during the just ended special delegates congress held on August 31, 2014.
Mr. Bugri Naabu confirmed this fact on an Accra radio station last Friday. He said that “I was voted by popular majority in the party so if I want to do anything, who can stop me by saying that what I am doing is not right? I am the chairman of the region and any person I think is doing something wrong, I can penalise them because I have that mandate…I have the right to discipline any officer who goes against my wish.”
This recent outburst by the Regional Chairman comes at the time when there are widespread reports of irregularities, malpractices, intimidation and vote buying during the special delegates congress to elect five members of the party to contest for the party’s flagbearership later in October this year.
In most of the centres that voting took place across the country, it was reported that aside the fact that voters were coerced to vote in a certain manner, they were instructed to take pictures of their respective thumb-printed ballot paper as a proof for voting for Nana Akufo-Addo. Again, the serial numbers on the ballot papers were being written by agents of Nana Addo in order to track the voting pattern of delegates.
These election irregularities were used to intimidate voters in their voting. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Constituency Chairman in the Upper East Region confirmed that he was asked to swear an oath to vote for Nana Akufo Addo and threatened that the serial number on the ballot paper would be used to track his vote. He further stated that he was also asked to show his ballot paper or take a shot of his voted ballot paper as evidence of his voting for Nana Akufo Addo.
In the mind of Nana Akufo Addo, the only free and fair elections are those that he has won. This is a man who held the whole nation to ransom for 8 months with his election petition to the Supreme Court. After the Sunyani Congress in 1998, Nana Akufo Addo neglected the John Kufour campaign and left for London. In 2008, he nearly embarked on a similar mission, however, he succeeded in doing so after the 2012 presidential election which did not go in his favour. He petitioned the Supreme Court to nullify the Presidential elections and declare him a winner as a result of electoral malpractices and irregularities that he believed took place.
Some political analysts are of the opinion that Nana Akufo Addo does not believe in fairness and transparency especially when it comes to his party’s internal elections.
We are monitoring events as they unfold, and we shall keep readers updated.
