UNITY TO PROTECT THE BALLOT

The New Patriotic Party’s internal elections have brought up very intelligent themes. This indeed goes to show the crop of people the party is made up of. We take a look at the campaign theme of the soft-spoken legal brain, Mr. Yaw Buaben Asamoah affectionately known as ‘YB’.

‘Unity to Protect the Ballot’ is quite self-explanatory. It reiterates the need for the party to build an unbreakable united front at all levels to encourage and help legitimately capture power in 2016 as were the case of 2000 and 2004.

The message, Mr. Buaben has said, is directed at all party faithfuls and not just delegates. He has strongly stressed over the past few months that when the members of the party are united, it promotes confidence, selflessness and willingness to achieve all the set principles.

YB Congratulates Newly Elected Regional Executives

A leading aspirant in the general secretary race of the New Patriotic Party has congratulated the newly elected regional executives of the Party. In a message posted on his Facebook page, YB stated that the Party has demonstrated that it is truly a democratic party.

The NPP on Saturday went to the polls to elect its regional executives around the country. The Electoral College, made up of about 5,000 delegates nationwide, elected 100 executives out of about 267 contestants.

Mr. Buaben Asamoah called on the unsuccessful candidates to bring their experience on board as the Party prepared for the 2016 elections because the Party needed all hands on deck to secure victory in 2016.

Who Heads The NPP National Secretariat?

Most Ghanaians agree that the 2016 general elections will be one of the toughest the NPP will ever face. Dare I say, even tougher than 2000. Ghanaians are wailing for change – change to move their country in the right direction. Come March 1^st, 2014, members of the New Patriotic Party who are contesting for National Executive positions will know their fates. In the words of Justice Atuguba “they will know their real size”.

The contest for other positions may be fierce but what I find most fascinating and intriguing is the race for General Secretary. Among those vying for the GS position is Mr. Kwabena Agyepong, who is not new to Party members, having served diligently as the Press Secretary to the former president, H.E. J.A. Kufuor.

Kwabena’s accolades precede him. He is competing though against really tougher opposition from the incumbent, Kwabena Owusu Afriyie (aka Sir John), the legal brain and excellent communicator, Yaw Buaben Asamoah, and the evergreen Captain Nkrabeah Effah-Darteh.

YB EXTENDS BEST WISHES TO CANDIDATES FOR REGIONAL EXECUTIVE POSITIONS

The New Patriotic Party goes to the polls again this weekend. This time around members of the Party will elect regional executives across the country. The Party, in preparation towards the 2016 general elections, held peaceful elections at the polling station and constituency level in the last few months of 2013, and it is expected that the regional executives’ elections will also be peaceful and successful.

In accordance with the Party’s Constitution and electoral practices, the elections will be held across the country simultaneously with about 250 candidates hoping to be elected to one of the 100 available positions (10 in each region). The Party has urged all delegates, about 5,000 of them, to ensure that they have completed travel arrangements ahead of time. Voting is expected to commence around 9am on 25^th January 2014, and it is expected that the outcome of the elections will be known by 5pm the same day.

Effah-Dartey Ahead Of NPP General Secretary Race

Captain Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey, aspiring General-Secretary for the New Patriotic Party, has said he remains at the fore in his bid to becoming the next General-Secretary of the party.

“I have heard some deliberate propaganda being circulated that I have bowed out of the race for the position of NPP General- Secretary; if those propagandists do not understand my campaign strategy, they better keep quiet”, he said.

“I am making it clear that I am ahead in the race and very confident that I am winning to become the next General-Secretary of the NPP,” he stressed.

Captain Effah-Dartey was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra after meeting with some constituencies to solicit for their votes.

WESTERN REGION BACKS YB FOR GENERAL SECRETARY

Yaw Buaben Asamoah, an aspirant for the General Secretary position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has vigorously been campaigning in the Western Region in the past week. His campaign received very positive reaction from delegates he met in the constituencies including Bibiani Ahweaso, Bekwai, Bodi, Takoradi, Kwesimintim, Ahanta West, Wassa West, Juaboso, Sefwi Wiawso, Bibiani and Suaman.

YB, as he is affectionately called, held very successful meetings with the delegates who agreed that 2016 is going to be tough and that the Party is in dire need of leaders who understand the stakes in the 2016 general elections. The delegates stressed that the new leadership of the Party should be ready to give the Party that unifying factor that won them the elections in 2000 and 2004.

Mr. Buaben Asamoah, whose campaign theme (Unity To Protect The Ballot) has found favour amongst delegates around the country, urged the delegates from Western Region to subject the candidates who come to them to crucial and critical scrutiny. He tasked them to check their backgrounds when they come to them for votes.

The selection of candidates, he added, must exude confidence and selflessness in order to ensure unity and stability in the NPP. YB stressed that the time had come for the party to avoid divisions that tear it apart anytime there is an internal competition.

He told the delegates that the NPP was for all of its members and not a section of people. He encouraged the delegates to make massive contribution to ensure the Party’s victory in 2016 by electing the right executives for the job.

The delegates thanked Mr. Buaben Asamoah and expressed satisfaction with his message. The delegates further assured YB of their support and wished him well in his campaign.

The decision of the legal luminary to contest the position of General Secretary has received a lot of applause from the rank and file of the Party with the latest being an open letter endorsement from Hon. Daniel Dugan, a former Deputy Minister under the erstwhile Kufuor Administration. According to Hon. Dugan, YB is a good communicator who is on top of issues, not arrogant and can unite all the various levels of the party membership.