The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has rejected calls for a merger with fellow Nkrumahist parties — the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the All People’s Congress (APC).
Following the disqualification of Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Dr. Edward Mahama and Dr. Hassan Ayariga from participating in the December 7 polls as presidential candidates of the PPP, PNC and the APC respectively, Edmund Delle, National Chairman of the CPP, called for a merger.
According to him, even though he sympathized with them, he believed their unfortunate situation was a “divine opportunity” to unite the Nkrumahist fraternity.
“We should learn from our mistakes,” said Delle Wednesday, 12 October 2016 adding, “it is not in our interest as Nkrumahist parties to walk on separate ways. United we stand, divided we fall.”
“This is the moment for our brothers and sisters of Nkrumahist lineage to go back to the drawing board,” he suggested and cogitate merger just in the event that they are not cleared by the courts “so that they can come solidly behind us [CPP].”
However, in a swift retort, Nduom, who is one of the disqualified presidential hopefuls flying the flag of the PPP rejected the idea, accusing Ghanaians of not allowing things to work naturally.
“So let people not sit somewhere and talk about things that they don’t know about. This is not something I want to engage…[and] spend time talking about,” he said in an interview with Accra-based Class FM on Friday.
He continued that “this is the Progressive People’s Party — it is the party that is working hard and is being recognized in the field [therefore] if people want to sit in Accra or some room in Kumasi and talk it is their right to do so.”
“I have nothing against that,” he added, urging that those calling for the merger should spend their time and go to the “Upper East, Upper West, Central Region, wherever else and see how our party is blossoming. They’ll understand that indeed this a good alternative to the NDC and the NPP.”
The Electoral Commission on Monday 10 October announced the disqualification of Nduom and 11 others from the presidential race.
It explained that it was unable to accept the nominations of Nduom, because the number of subscribers in his forms did not make the requirements of regulation 7(2) of CI 94 and that “one subscriber, Mr Richard Aseda, with voter ID number 7812003957 endorsed Dr Nduom’s forms in the Central region and again endorsed the same forms with the same ID number in the Volta region.”
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