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We’re still shocked by the results of the parliamentary elections – Justin Kodua
The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Frimpong Kodua, has expressed shock and disbelief over the results of the just-ended 2024 parliamentary elections.
He stated that one major issue before the 2020 election was how the party had imposed some candidates on certain constituencies.
“So we vowed not to allow such instances to repeat themselves again in the 2023/2024 primaries. You can testify that we ran one of the most transparent and efficient parliamentary primaries in our party, with no traces of controversy after the election. The various constituencies were given the opportunity to elect whoever they wanted to lead them in the 2024 election,” he said.
He revealed that an album validation committee was established to ensure transparency during the election and avoid any misunderstandings among members.
In an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen Show on Tuesday, January 14, Mr Kodua mentioned that parliamentary candidates of the party acknowledged that the party had fairly provided maximum support during the election, making it unprecedented.
“Some of us are still mesmerized, we are still shocked by the outcome of the election,” he emphasized.
Mr Kodua further explained that he chose not to grant any interviews after the election because he was puzzled by how the party lost so many seats despite ensuring a smooth election process during the primaries.
He expressed strong confidence in the committee set up to investigate the aftermath of the 2024 election.
“The committee, headed by Prof Mike Oquaye, will probe further to find out what really happened,” he stressed.
He also attributed the party’s loss to apathy that had crept into the party, which he claimed led to the poor performance.
“The kind of apathy that infiltrated the party in the 2024 elections affected both the presidential and parliamentary candidates…” he concluded.
Although both parties had 137 MPs with one independent MP backing the NPP to give them a slight majority in the 8th Parliament, the 9th Parliament has seen the NDC winning 183 seats, with the NPP managing just 88 seats with four Independent MPs.
There’s just one parliamentary seat yet to be determined by the Electoral Commission due to an outstanding dispute.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
President John Dramani Mahama has held a high-level meeting with the Heads of Security Agencies, Minister for the Interior and Acting Minister for Defence on the ongoing security services recruitment process.
Following a briefing on the process, the President has directed that the number of men and women to be recruited to the various security agencies should be increased from twenty-thousand (20,000) to forty thousand (40,000) over a four year period.
The President has also directed the Heads of the Security Agencies to ensure transparency and fairness in the recruitment process.
Present at the meeting were the Chief of Staff, Secretary to the President, Senior Presidential Advisor on Governmental Affairs, National Security Coordinator, Inspector General of Police Director General Prisons, Director General Fire Service, Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service and the Director General of the Narcotics Control Commission
At the request of the minority leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) met with members of the Parliamentary Minority Caucus today.
The engagement afforded the Caucus an opportunity to provide the Fund with feedback on recent economic developments in Ghana.
The discussions were mutually beneficial to both sides as stakeholders in Ghana’s governance.
The IMF delegation was led by Adrian Alter, Resident Representative, accompanied by Mr. Razafimahefa Ivohasina Fizara, Coordinator of AFRITAC West 2 and Mr. Osa Ahinakwah Economist at the IMF Country Office.
Members of the Caucus in attendance were, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, Second Deputy Minority Whip; Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Ranking Member on Finance; Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ranking Member on Economy and Development; Kweku Agyeman Kwarteng, Chairman on Budget; Abena Osei-Asare, Chairperson of Public Accounts; and Collins Adomako-Mensah, Deputy Ranking Member on Energy.
Dr. Antoinette Tsiboe-Darko, Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, also represented the Party.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
