According to a report by My Joy Online on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Deputy General Secretary, Mustapha Gbande, has stirred the political waters by alleging that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is behind the current disarray within the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP).
This, he claims, is a calculated effort to influence the party’s position on the ballot and secure the symbolic number 8 for themselves in the upcoming December elections.
Gbande suggested that the NPP’s move stemmed from the historical belief that the number 8 has been significant for the NDC.
“They had never relented on that effort to ensure that we go to the election with the NDC carrying number 8,” he stated, pointing to past electoral trends.
He accused the NPP of attempts to obstruct the GFP’s reinstatement into the electoral contest.
“We do know that the NPP has done so much to try to frustrate GFP relisting into the contest so that they can succeed in changing numbers… what they forget is that no political party has really won an election in Ghana on the basis of numbers. So it is the NPP behind this kind of gimmick,” Gbande charged.
The allegations come amidst an ongoing conflict within the GFP over the nomination of a presidential candidate following the death of its founder, Akua Donkor.
The party’s General Secretary formally submitted a letter to the Electoral Commission (EC), naming Philip Kwabena Agyemang, known as Roman Fada, as the new candidate, in line with the EC’s directive to appoint a successor within 10 days, as per Article 40(4) of the 1992 Constitution.
However, a competing letter from the party’s National Organiser, citing consultations with Donkor’s family, announced the GFP’s withdrawal from the race.
Responding to this, Gbande underscored the General Secretary’s authority, stating:
“If a general secretary goes to file with the consent of the candidate willing to contest, what is the business of a national organizer going to file and say, ‘I have withdrawn’? The national organizer doesn’t have the locus and capacity to do that.”
Countering the claims, NPP’s Deputy General Secretary, Haruna Mohammed, refuted any involvement, dismissing the allegations as unfounded.
“We have no intention of influencing any political party’s ballot position,” he asserted, reiterating that the NPP’s only concern is securing victory for their own candidate.
“We are not going to peddle any influence over any political party with respect to any position.”
“When my brother said so, I believe he did not adduce any evidence to support the fact that it is being perpetrated by the NPP,” Mohammed concluded, calling on the NDC to refrain from spreading baseless accusations.
