NPP leaders meet tomorrow to decide date for parliamentary primaries

The National Council of the New Patriotic Party will be meeting tomorrow, Wednesday 3 June, to fix a date for the party’s parliamentary primaries in constituencies with sitting Members of Parliament.

The party had originally scheduled to elect its candidates in these constituencies on 25 April. The plan had to be cancelled because of the ban on public gatherings to contain and stop the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

A trusted source said the Council will discuss modalities for the conduct of the elections.
The meeting comes on the heels of the announcement by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of a phased easing of restrictions to open up Ghana’s economy.

In his tenth address to the nation on the country’s COVID-19 situation, President Akufo-Addo said certain social gatherings – church services, small conferences and meetings of no more 100 people – can now take place.

The source said the party would make sure that everything done was consistent with safety and preventive protocols.

The decision to suspend the NPP primaries was taken at a National Steering Committee meeting on Tuesday 14 April.

A statement issued by John Boadu, NPP general secretary, said: “The National Steering Committee, by reason of Article 10 (10) (1) of the party’s constitution, is the body responsible for overseeing the daily management of the party, and thus mandated to ‘act on behalf of the party on urgent matters’ such as in the circumstances we find ourselves as a party and nation, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In the light of this development, the party is unable to hold the primaries as planned and has accordingly postponed the same till further notice. The party regrets all inconveniences that this may occasion, and hopes to hold this crucial exercise, sooner . . .”