A delegation of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has walked out of the ongoing National Delegates Conference of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over what it described as poor organisation and undue delay in the start of the programme.

The delegation, led by the Deputy National Women Organiser, Ms Dzifa Tsegah, said it arrived at the conference grounds at 9:30 a.m. for a programme scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m., but as of 2:00 p.m., the event had yet to commence.

Speaking to the media at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Ms Tsegah expressed frustration over what she described as a lack of communication and coordination from the organisers.

“We were here at half past nine because we were very sure that the NPP would not be ready at nine, but we were thinking that between nine and nine-thirty, it would have started. Currently, it is almost 2 p.m., and we have been waiting, and it does not even look like they are ready,” she said.

According to her, the flyer for the conference indicated that the programme should have ended by 1:00 p.m., yet voting had not even started hours after that time.

She noted that delegates had travelled from various regions and had been left stranded at the venue.

“We are here to give our solidarity message. We have a lot of things to do. As the Deputy National Women Organiser, I have called some of my colleagues from the other side, but everyone seems to be disoriented. Nobody knows what is going on. There is no central point of communication,” Ms Tsegah lamented.

“We have not been informed about exactly what time they will be starting and what time the various political parties will be giving their solidarity messages. I don't think we can be waiting indefinitely. It is not fair,” she added.

Ms Tsegah said the disorganisation was indicative of deeper challenges within the NPP as an opposition party.

“If you see this organisation of their own congress, it tells you that honestly, the NPP has a lot of work to do to be able to put its party together,” she stated.

She stressed that Ghana needs a strong opposition to deepen democracy and hold the government accountable, but said the current state of affairs did not inspire confidence.

“We are here as brothers because outside Ghana, we are one. I really hope that this election will pull the best out of them because in Ghana, we need a strong opposition to make sure democracy is alive and on its toes.

“This is an indication that they will be in opposition for a very, very long time. We need them to be a strong opposition so that they will put the government in check because we are the National Democratic Congress and we believe so much in democracy,” she said.

The NDC delegation said it was forced to leave the venue due to other pressing engagements but hoped its solidarity message would be relayed to the NPP through the media.