Spio Gabrah Fun Club: We Want NDC‘s Electoral College Expanded

A youth wing of the NDC in Tamale, the Northern Friends of Spio Gabrah (NFSG), has suggested to the party’s National Executive Committee to deepen its internal democracy by expanding the Electoral College ahead of the July 8 to 10 delegates’ congress.

The group believes that the current composition of the NDC’s Electoral College could be manipulated by any of the presidential aspirants since money could be used to buy the conscience of the delegates.

“As far as practicable our party’s leadership should expand the Electoral College that is eligible to participate in the election of the flagbearer by allowing polling station agents and other non executives but influential members to take part in the process: This could help check and stop vote buying” the group stressed.

The Northern Friends of Spio Gabrah group is convinced that expanding the Electoral College to allow polling agents and foot soldiers partake in the upcoming delegates congress will make the exercise free, fair and transparent.

The group warns that any attempt to ignore the suggestion could create more confusion in the NDC and this could affect its chances in 2012.

Mohammed Mubarik, Secretary to the group, raised these concerns at a news conference in Tamale on the sidelines of President Mills’ four-day official tour of the northern region. “The NDC must adopt the new trend of electing its leaders to be conventional
with international standards because that is the system the United Kingdom and the United States of America are practicing which was adopted by the New Patriotic Party in Ghana during the election of its flagbearer” he noted. “The winner of the NDC flagbearer position with about 2,500 delegates will not seem as legitimate as that of the NPP flagbearer who was elected by 120,000 delegates,” Mubarik argued.

Mohammed Mubarik said it was necessary for copies of the party’s 2010 revised Constitution to be made available to party members to enable them acquaint themselves with the new rules and regulations governing the elections. “As a matter of urgency the party’s leadership must take immediate steps to rectify the situation by ensuring that party members are abreast with the provisions of the revised constitution.”

To strengthen unity in the NDC, the Northern Friends of Spio Gabrah group called on President Mills to reconcile with the party’s founder Jerry John Rawlings who it noted was very instrumental in the NDC’s 2008 victory.

Mohammed Mubarik was insistent that the NDC cannot win the 2012 elections without former President Jerry John Rawlings for which reason every effort must be made to reconcile him and President Mills.