General News of Sunday, 17 December 2017
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2017-12-17
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
The contentious proposal to prohibit members of the New Patriotic Party with dual nationality from holding offices in the party has been withdrawn.
Two other proposals- Members of Parliament to appoint constituency executives as well as making the flagbearer of the party to become the leader of the party- have also fallen through at the ongoing Extraordinary Delegates’ Conference of the governing party at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Sunday.
President Nana Kufo-Addo had earlier indicated the proposal to prevent dual citizens from contesting executive positions in the party will be withdrawn.
According to him, “the motion to amend the constitution of the party which will make it impossible for dual citizens to hold party office and contest for election will lead to the collapse of our overseas branches will be withdrawn.”
The proposal to exclude persons with dual nationality was pushed by the parliamentary caucus who said it was to harmonise the party’s constitution with the country’s 1992 constitution whose Citizenship Act bars dual citizens from holding political office.
But the USA branch of the NPP vehemently opposed this move.
“As a party that believes in equality of opportunities and equal citizenship, we believe we should be at the forefront of repealing this provision from the 1992 Constitution, not importing it into our Constitution,” it said in a statement over the week.
The President, however, expressed that the rationale to align the party’s constitution with that of the country is not bad but they must “do it in another manner”.
