A prominent member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has called for reforms to allow the election of party officials and flag bearers by paid-up, card-bearing members to ensure a more inclusive and transparent process.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Nana Obiri Boahen, a legal practitioner and former Minister of State, emphasized that involving all paid-up members in the party’s internal elections would reduce the influence of money in the process.
“We should ensure that all paid-up, card-bearing members are allowed to vote, free from the influence of money in our politics,” Nana Boahen said.
He further argued that the current system, which limits voting to a select group of delegates, is susceptible to manipulation and monetization.
In addition, Nana Boahen called for the adoption of technology in the party’s internal elections to improve inclusivity and ensure transparency in the voting process.
“With the level of technology we have today, it’s surprising that we’re not using electronic voting or pre-voting systems,” he said, adding: “This will allow all paid-up members to participate in the voting process, regardless of their location.”
He said the call for all paid-up card-bearing members of the party to vote and the use of technology in voting had been his position since 2012 as that would take away manipulation and monetisation out of the country’s politics.
He suggested that the party maintained a well-comprehensive constituency register, which would allow members to verify their eligibility to vote.
Nana Boahen, a former Deputy General Secretary of the NPP, also welcomed the decision by the party to set up a review committee to conduct a thorough post-mortem analysis of the party’s defeat in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
He urged all party faithfuls to remain calm as they await the recommendations of the committee.
