Apasera’s election as PNC flagbearer marks new era for party
A decisive win by the former People’s National Convention MP for Bolgatanga suggests the will of the rank and file is on the ascendant
The emergence of a former People’s National Convention (PNC) MP for Bolgatanga, David Apasera, as the party’s new flagbearer at its congress yesterday (Wednesday 30 September) signals a change in tone and direction for the PNC, pundits say.
Apasera beat off competition from his main contenders, Sampson Asaki Awingobit and Reverend Adjei Debrah, by securing 1,315 votes out of the total 2,569 cast.
Awingobit, who is currently the executive secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, secured 789 votes while Reverend Samuel Adjei won 465.
The change of leadership follows wrangles between leading PNC executives and the previous presidential candidate, Edward Mahama, as well as calls by PNC pressure groups for a change at the top.
Open invitation
Apasera expressed his gratitude to the delegates and outlined his plans to make the PNC more attractive to Ghanaian voters.
“PNC has brought me this far, PNC has brought me to Parliament, and by virtue of PNC’s carrying me to Parliament, I have been able to serve at the ECOWAS Parliament,” he said.
“And I want to let Ghanaians know that as this opportunity opens itself, I am going to work hard and let Ghanaians know that PNC is the vehicle that can carry you to the Jubilee House.”
The new flagbearer extended an invitation to the youth and Ghanaians who are struggling to join other political parties to consider the PNC as their choice in the December elections.
“We are going to hit the ground running because it is very belated. We are left with just three months to go. So I call on all PNC members, all others who are on the sidelines, and all those struggling to join other parties, that the PNC is open to all,” he told the audience at the congress.
About Apasera
David Apasera was the MP for Bolgatanga (Upper East Region) in the fourth parliament of the Fourth Republic. He is a Christian and is married with four children.
He was first elected as an MP on the PNC ticket in 2000 and was retained in 2004, securing 18,948 votes out of 49,101, equivalent to 38.6% of the total valid vote. The People’s National Convention won four seats out of 230 in that election.
However, he lost Bolgatanga in the 2008 election, coming third behind the NDC’s candidate, Emmanuel Akolbire Opam-Brown, and the New Patriotic Party’s Mercy Alima Musah. Apasera’s was one of the two PNC constituencies in the Upper East and Upper West Regions that the National Democratic Congress took in the 2008 election, out of a total four held by party.
Five gears
Addressing delegates at the congress on Wednesday evening, Apasera said: “I call on PNC members and all sympathisers, all those who have given up hope, that the vehicle is awake again and we are driving straight.
“We are hitting the ground in fifth gear so that we can catch up with the others,” he declared.
Another former PNC Member of Parliament, Moses Dani Baah (Sissala 2001-2005 and Sissala East 2005-2009), defeated Bernard Mornah to secure the chairmanship, securing 1,297 votes to Mornah’s 1,266. Speaking on this morning’s Asaase Breakfast Show, Mornah described the renewed leadership as “a new executive with new energy”.
More than 4,000 delegates across all 16 regions took part in the exercise in situ. They comprised 3,850 constituency executive members, 224 regional executive members, eight members of the PNC Council of Elders, 17 members of the national executive and 16 founder members, one from each region.
Fred Dzakpata
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