The New Patriotic Party has responded to the landmark lawsuit filed by Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and others, seeking to scrap the delegate system in Ghana’s internal party elections.
Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, along with Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe and Dr. Christine Amoako-Nuamah, filed a constitutional lawsuit at the Supreme Court challenging the delegate-based systems used by the NPP, NDC, and CPP to select candidates.
They argue that restricting voting power to a small group of executives and delegates effectively disenfranchises millions of ordinary members, violating the democratic principles of the 1992 Constitution.
However, Mr. Richard Takyi-Mensah, the NPP’s Central Regional Secretary, hit back at the plaintiffs, describing the lawsuit as a move to “remain relevant” rather than a solid legal challenge.
Speaking on the Atlantic Wave, he argued that the delegate system is a worldwide standard based on the principle of representation, similar to how Members of Parliament represent an entire constituency.
He contended that if this form of representation is considered “wrong,” then the entire structure of Parliament would be invalid as well.
“Can all of us be president of Ghana?” he questioned. “The president is also representing the whole country…If there is anything, a meeting, conference or summit, do you think that all of us can go and represent Ghana at that time? It is simply not possible.”
While the plaintiffs are asking the court to compel the Electoral Commission and the Attorney-General to enforce universal member voting, Mr. Takyi-Mensah insists that this would be a “logistical and financial nightmare.”
He also rejected the idea that the delegate system is the root cause of political corruption, maintaining that vote-buying is a broader systemic issue in Ghana that affects even general elections, where every citizen has a vote.
“There are people who demand money even before they cast their vote in general elections, and it is not a delegate system,” he noted. It’s a problem with the system, and we need to deal with it.”
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