General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Adjei Agyepong has stated emphatically that the party cannot do without its October 18 National Delegates’ Congress to elect a presi­dential candidate even though some powerful groups within are advocat­ing for the event to be abandoned.

Several leading members, including Dr. K.warne Addo Kufuor, former Minister of Defence and The Interior, Isaac Osei, Member of Parliament for Subin and the party’s external branches, have proposed that the as­pirants who received the highest votes in the just ended Special Electoral College be given the nod as the automatic presidential candidate to lead the NPP into the 2016 general elections.

They argued that this would save the party from expending money, time and logistics on the pending National Congress, thus it should rather use these resources during the electioneer­ing campaign.

Their assertion has become more vociferous after Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, twice presidential can­didate of the party, won a landslide vic­tory in the Electoral College, polling 598 votes out of 740.

This represented 80.81 per cent as against 59 votes (7.9 per cent) obtained by his closest rival, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen.

However, some party connoisseurs have opposed the move, saying cutting corners would amount to breaching the party’s constitution.

Apparently “Article.12 (5) (1) of the contitution stipulates that: Where there is only one (1)  contestant lot nomination as the party’s presidential candidate, the National Congress shall acclaim his nomination as the party’s presidential candidate”.

“We respect our constitution. Our constitution dictates to us that this was the first stage and now we have the five candidates that will go on to the second stage.”

He said it was important that the party complied with its laws and that every delegate should be allowed vote for his referred presidential hope­ful.

According to Mr. Agyepong the constitution stipulates that there should be two levels of electing the NPP’s presidential candidate where possible, and that the Special College was the first stage to reduce the seven candidates to five, per the constitu­tion.

According to Mr Agyapong the party cannot ask any aspirant who qualified to step down.

Meanwhile, Joe Ghartey, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and one of the five aspirants who qualified for the October 18 after Sunday’s polls has announced that he would not con­test.     

He explained that the decision was personal and voluntary.

“I am not going to contest in the October 17 elections, we are all going to work for the NPP to come back to power,"” he added.

Mr. Francis Addai-Nimo who sur­prisingly came third said he would only take a definite decision after a broad consultation with his team and having examined the results.

The MP for Mampong polled 22 votes of the 740 votes, representing 2.8 per cent, but maintained his per­formance came as no surprise due his hard work.

“I was confident before the elections. 1 was confident that 1 will definitely emerge as one of the five and so it many, Holland, Italy, Nigeria and Ja­pan.

“As much as we respect and recognise the constitutional rights of the other candidates to go for the Oc­tober 18 elections, we humbly appeal to them to consider the larger picture, in the supreme interest of the party and throw their weight behind the win­ner of the Special Electoral College.

Dr. Charles Dwamena, spokesper­son the branches, commended the de­cision of Mr Ghartey who decided to quit the race, even though he qualified for the next stage.

The group advised Nana Akufo- Addo ask his supporters to refrain from acts that could scold the other aspirants and their followers.

“In addition, we encourage Nana Addo to open his doors to all other candidates by extending an olive branch so that we can form a united front to prosecute the 2016 general election,”, they said.

They further commended the hier­archy of the NPP for organising a suc­cessful poll on Sunday.