USE CONCENSUS TO CHOOSE NPP CANDIDATES...Says Yaw Mort (PAGE 12, DEC 4, 2010)

The Upper East Regional Organiser of the New Patriotic Party, (NPP), Mr Yaw Mort is advocating the use of consensus to determine the right choice of parliamentary candidates for the party at the various constituencies in the region.
Mr Mort, who said this in an interview at Bolgatanga, appealed to the rank and file of the party, especially in the region to be guided by their past experiences in the selection of parliamentary candidates to represent the various constituencies. “We must bear in mind that posterity would judge us if we repeat the same mistakes we made in the past”, he said.
He recalled strategic meetings held which brought together all former appointees, MPs and office holders of the party a couple of weeks ago, as well as meeting with the National Organiser of the NPP, Alhaji Moctar Bamba,where it became clear that the way forward for the party in its quest to secure parliamentary seats in the region is not to repeat the mistakes of the past during the selection of parliamentary candidates, but rather allow due process to prevail.
He, therefore, entreated all party members to abide by the laid down regulations and desist from internal power struggle in selecting a parliamentary candidate, since that would only harm the party’s quest to capture many parliamentary seats and ultimately win the 2012 general elections.
He said there can be disunity in the party especially at the constituency level, if dissatisfied contestants at primaries decided to go independent, stressing that such a development could result in widespread “skirt and blouse” voting pattern that characterised the 2008 elections.
Mr Mort said that from the 2011 budget which was presented to Parliament, it was clear that the NDC government had lost focus and was struggling to hold on to any floating straw as a drowning man would always do, and the suffering populace of this country, especially those from the northern part of the country would not forgive the NPP if “we fail to rescue them from their current predicament as a result of our own internal power struggles”, he added.