CPP Picks Leaders

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Created on Saturday, 10 September 2011 00:00

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CPP Picks Leaders

At long last the Convention People’s Party (CPP) has commenced its extraordinary congress to elect

national officers who will prepare the party for the 2012 general elections and beyond, after a series of postponements.

Wing Commander (Rtd.) Patrick Sogbojor, chairman of the CPP election committee, has described the postponements as resulting from “circumstances beyond our control”.

The once vibrant party has therefore finally got down to business in a contest which political analysts say would define the future of the party.

The congress was first fixed for April 29-30, 2011, postponed to May 27-29 and later rescheduled for late June, due to operational and organizational challenges, court actions and the inability of some regions to elect their officers on time.

The change of the initial venue from Takoradi to Accra also made campaigning very difficult.

About 2,300 delegates from all the 230 constituencies in the country are expected to participate in the event which has been scheduled to be held at the Trade Fair Center in La, Accra this morning.

In all, 24 candidates are contesting seven different positions and the election will be supervised by the Electoral Commission.

The positions include National Chairman (4), National Vice-Chairmen (6), General Secretary (3), National Treasurer (2), National Organizer (3), National Women’s Organizer (3) and National Youth Organizer (3).

The build-up to the election has not been without drama. Less than 24 hours to the two-day event, the CPP Northern Regional Chairman threatened that the region would boycott the congress if logistical and organizational challenges were not immediately addressed.

Ladi Nylander, incumbent national chairman, later assured that all the problems had been fixed and that everything was “under control”.

The position that is likely to attract the attention of observers is that of National Chairperson. Four formidable candidates are going to “wrestle” for that seat.

Incumbent Chairman Ladi Nylander; a former occupant of that seat, Professor Edmund N. Delle; current MP for Jomoro, Samia Yaaba Nkrumah, daughter of the founder of CPP Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah; and incumbent National Vice-Chairperson, Araba Bentsi-Enchill are all ‘eyeing’ the seat.

On the notice of poll released by the EC, Ms. Nkrumah occupies the first position, followed by Prof Delle, Mr. Nylander and Madam Bentsi-Enchill in that order.

Rodaline Ayarna, Ibrahim M. Seidu, Susan Adu-Amankwa, William Nana Buckman, Oteng Anane and Kojo Armah are all vying for the position of national vice-chairman.

The general secretary position is being hotly contested by Ivor Greenstreet, Nii Armah Akomfrah and Ekow Duncan.

The position of national treasurer position is a straight fight between Kosi Dedey and Seth Gomnah.

Evelyn Alamisi Anabilla, Appiah Amankwah and Abu Forgor are slugging it out for national organizer, while Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim-Haruna, Mary Ankumah Boakye-Boateng and Aisha Suley Futa will battle for the national women’s organizer position.

The national youth organizer position will be vied for by Murtala Mohammed, Francis Opai Tetteh and Issifu Kadiri Abdul Rauf.

It will be the first time in the history of the CPP that it is heading for an early congress to elect its national officers to enable the party to elect its flagbearer as soon as possible.

The CPP, since the coming into force of the 4th Republican Constitution, has always elected their flag-bearer very late.

The last time an Nkrumahist party won a general election was in 1979, under the Third Republican Constitution, when Dr Hilla Limann won on the ticket of the People’s National Party (PNP), with the support of the CPP’s organizational machinery.


Source: William Yaw Owusu