The Upper West Regional Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Hafiz Bin Salih, has said the proposed amendments to the party's constitution are not as a result of its electoral defeat suffered in the 2008 general elections. He said the process started long before the 2008 elections with a committee chaired by the late former Speaker of Parliament, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey. According to him, the amendment was necessary because as a democratic party, people at the grass roots who owned the party must be part of the decision-making process. Mr Bin Salih was speaking to the Daily Graphic in Wa, the regional capital. He said it became very evident during the presidential primary and the selection of parliamentary candidates for last year's elections that supporters of the party felt they had been left out for only a few delegates to decide for them. He advised activists of the party not to misconstrue the amendment process by picking on only one item, that is, the expansion of the Electoral College. "What the amendments seek to do is bring on board grass roots members of the party to elect the flag bearer and national officers. TESCON was initially not part of the voting process at congresses but with the amendment each accredited tertiary institution will have a delegate at the national congress," Mr Bin Salih added. Mr Bin Salih said apart from that being an empowerment to the youth wing of the party, it would also provide the opportunity for people who had served the party in the past to have a say in the election of the flag bearer and national officers. "This is so because no provision was made for former national officers in the existing constitution and, therefore, people such as Harouna Esseku and BJ. da Rocha, both former national chairmen of the party, did not have the franchise to vote at congresses," the youth organiser said. Mr Bin Salih was of the belief that the NPP would come out stronger than before after the national congress scheduled for next week. Source: Daily Graphic