Incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP), Member of Parliament for the Tema West Constituency, Irene Naa Torshie Addo says she will appeal a decision by the party’s National Steering Committee, which overturned the disqualification of Carlos Ahenkora, an aspiring parliamentary candidate for the area.
She contends that the Steering Committee does not have the power to revoke Vetting Committee’s decision adding that “I don’t think the steering committee has the locus to do that. They can’t just get up and say that these people should contest. I think they have to be fair to the vetting committee.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”QMFb1s2XFzMXPERyVkF0MDGdDdW2ogFB”]“If I appeal at the National and they still think that there is no case, fine! But I have a right to be heard, I cannot allow discrimination where I’m concerned. So the rules of engagement must be the same for everyone.”
The party’s vetting committee disqualified Carlos Ahenkorah for not nurturing the party at the constituency; a decision he has rejected.
His disqualification was subsequently cancelled by the NPP’s Steering Committee in a letter dated May 19, 2015.
But incumbent MP for the area, Irene Naa Torshie Addo questioned the rationale behind the cancellation.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, Naa Torshie Addo said she bears no grudge against Carlos Ahenkorah, but only wants due process to be followed.
“I don’t have any problem if they qualified, but if the vetting committee says they are not qualified on eight grounds, then why should that be? I just want things to be fair,” she added.
She explained that, according to the NPP constitution, if a disqualified member feels that he or she has been treated unfairly, “the way to appeal is through the regional appeals committee, and if you are not dissatisfied, you go to the national appeals committee. That’s in the constitution of the party.”
“Nobody, no matter what your capacity is, have the right to say I’ve shield off every group, I’ve closed the door so we should be able to do this. No!”
She argued that investigations she had carried show that the party’s Steering Committee made a hasty decision without going into the details that warranted the disqualification.
“You don’t even have the real reason for their disqualification but you decide everybody go, then why did you do a vetting? Why did you provide in the booklet that we bought for a thousand Ghana that if you are not satisfied you could go to region and after that to National. Why would you do something like that in a human institution?”
But Speaking on Eyewitness News, Carlos Ahenkorah cautioned Naa Torshie from doing anything that could destabilize the party in the constituency.
“Nobody is stopping her from going to the National Appeals committee, nobody is asking her to stop wherever she’s gotten to and let election come on but the status quo must be maintained,” he added.
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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana