The ruling National Democratic Congress has dismissed assertions the party is divided ahead of the crucial election 2012 campaign. Its Chairman Kwabena Adjei told Joy News’ Sammy Darko there evidently are factions within the party but that does not in anyway mean the party is not united. He explained most of the factionalism has come about as a result of the lack of understanding of what democracy is all about and what the rudiments of free speech should be. The NDC has in the recent past made the headlines for all the wrong reasons with raging public debates about who is, and who is not the real founder of the party. There is also a reference to a comment attributed to the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia jubilating over a barking dog which has been exorcised from the party. Kofi Adams, aide to ex-president Jerry John Rawlings is unhappy with the comment, saying, that dog played a crucial role in driving thieves from the party, but with it (dog) exorcised, as the General Secretary would have the world believe, the party will be opened to thieves and other recalcitrant personalities. Kwabena Adjei said most of the factionalism in the party is attributable to a clear lack of understanding of the power of free speech by persons within the party. “In political parties you cannot make explicit laws to govern the behavior of the rank and file. “...So from time to time, people who are angered by this or by that, may want to make their grievances known. “The methodologies may differ. Those methodologies that tend to undermine the party are those that we as political party leaders have the responsibility to prevent from rearing its head." He said democracy and the political parties in Ghana are very young and many participants have the tendency to abuse the freedom of speech that comes with the practice but with time the chips will fall into their rightful place. “…They think of democrac as the exercise of right without responsibility. I understand. “It will take some time before we move from our traditional ways of doing things to the modern democratic ways of doing things," he said. He averred his loud silence since the party’s return from the Sunyani Congress is a clear strategy to maintain unity.