NPP constituency elections: Winner takes all mentality cause of fisticuffs – Security analyst
Security Analyst, Dr Adam Bonaa has blamed the chaos and fisticuffs experienced at some polling stations during the New Patriotic Party’s constituency elections, on the winner takes all mentality that has existed since 1992.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Midday News, Friday, Dr. Bonaa claimed that Ghanaians have not learned lessons from this mindset over the years.
His assertion comes after the constituency elections in some parts of the country turned chaotic with party members threatening to halt the process.
According to the aggrieved party members of Okai South Constituency, over 413 names have been deleted from the register, adding that people from other constituencies have rather been included in the register to partake in the exercise.
They also alleged that some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been added to the register to increase the fortunes of some aspirants.
Sharing his assessment of the election, Dr. Bonaa said that the election conducted across the Constituencies are ‘partly chaotic.’
“I watched your reporter yesterday from one of the areas in Accra, where literally the fisticuffs were… If you ask me I would say that it had to do with the winner takes all mentality we have seen from 1992 up till date,” he said.
According to him, the President in his address on Thursday to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the referendum that approved the 1992 Constitution, ”should have probably also highlighted these disturbances that are ongoing within his own party in the constituency election.”
In addition, he urged that the issue of Police taking sides and being impartial on the grounds during party elections be looked into critically.
“It is difficult to say that you are going to have all Police officers to be very neutral. It will be difficult. DCEs and Regional Ministers, all these people have their own people they would want to be leaders within the constituency to make things easy for them. So as far as I am concerned, you are not going to have all Police officers, but you will have a good number of them who are likely to support a particular candidate,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service is warning NPP constituency executives against deviant behaviors during the conduct of their constituency election across the country.
Director of operations at the Police Service, DCOP Mohammed Suraj cautioned that any party member who fails to comply with the rules will be made to face the law.
Source: Ghana News
