NPP Parliamentary Forms Shortages Hit Kumasi

The artificial shortage of forms for the upcoming parliamentary primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region has started causing some unease, suspicions and accusations that can degenerate into internal racks.

Reports say the Ashanti Regional branch of the party, led by Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka ‘Wontumi’, has released a maximum of three nomination forms to each constituency in the region so far.

Meanwhile there is high demand for the forms and it the shortage is causing suspicions that it is a strategy by leadership to be bias in favour of certain incumbent Members of Parlianent.

Some leading members of the ruling political party in the region have openly expressed their disgust over the scanty number of nomination forms that have been released to the constituencies.

These NPP members suspected that, perhaps, the party’s decision to release a small number of the nomination forms, is a strategy by Wontumi to prevent some people from contesting.

But in a sharp rebuttal, Sam Pyne, the Ashanti Regional Secretary of the NPP, has explained that indeed the party was releasing the nomination forms in tots for strategic reasons.

He said that there have been some instances in the past where some aspirants in some constituencies were denied forms by their constituency executives, leading to confusion.

Pyne opined  that “to help prevent this weird situation, the Ashanti Regional branch of the  NPP has decided to release the forms in tots in order to prevent a single person from hijacking the forms.

“If the constituency genuinely runs out of nominations forms, their duty is to write to us so that we can add more nominations forms”, to help avert confusion in the NPP.

Speaking with Nhyira FM in Kumasi, Sam Pyne said he was hopeful that the various aspirants would be given their freedom to pick nominations forms to contest.

Meanwhile, there have been reports that suggested shortage of nomination forms in some constituencies, a development that is fast brewing tension in the party.

According to reports, some constituency chairmen of the NPP are intentionally preventing some aspirants from picking nomination forms, citing shortage of form as an excuse.

The shortage of nominations forms syndrome is said to be moving from one constituency to another and this unfortunate situation is reported to be creating deep cracks in the NPP.