New Patriotic Party Council of Elders member and former Chief of Staff in the Kufuor Administration, Kwadwo Mpiani has counselled that calls for peace in the party will not achieve much if the processes leading to the election of a presidential candidate are not made transparent.
The campaigning processes should also be devoid of intimidation or it would be difficult for the party to come together to prosecute its desire to capture power in the 2016 general elections, he said.
Mr. Mpiani gave the advice on Asempa FM on Monday while responding to allegations that a meeting of the party bigwigs at the weekend nearly resulted in fisticuffs over his perceived endorsement of moves to open up the flagbearer race instead of re-fielding Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo, the party’s presidential candidate for 2008 and 2012.
While admitting there were tensed moments during the meeting which he said saw a younger member of the party point fingers at him and accusing him of destroying the party, he was personally never angry, explaining that if the election processes were not transparent, and if winning candidates also engaged in intimidation, it would be very difficult for a candidate who is forced to lose the race to be asked later to support the party cause.
Mr. Mpiani said being a democratic process, the party was always going to witness competition when elective positions come up, but what was key was that the party remained united.
The NPP has set December 6, 2014 as the tentative date to elect a flagbearer for Election 2016.