The Greater Accra New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman, Ishmael Ashittey, is justifying a controversial decision announced by the party to allow only Gas to contest in the Region, saying it is important in fostering good relationships with fetish priests.
“You see we have some customs and values…..you have to be dealing with the chief, the high priest….they will not like to deal with somebody who does not understand their traditions and customs,” Ishmael Ashittey told Joy News last Friday.
The NPP, had planned to reserve seats to the following coastal Constituencies in the Greater Accra Region to be contested by Ga indigenes, except in exceptional circumstances:
They are Ngleshie Amanfrom, Ablekuma South, Odododiodio, Korle Klottey, La Dade Kotopon, Ledzokuku, Krowor, Tema East, Tema West, Kpone Katamanso, Amasaman, Obom and Domeabra.
The NPP Chairman, said that for the party to reserve these areas out of 34 Constituencies, shows the party was demonstrating that in typical traditional areas, culture becomes important.
“You see people are talking about all people stay in Accra. We know that, that is why we are not putting up the whole 34 Constituencies. We are picking”, he stressed.
He wondered why in Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, and in most part of the Ashanti Regions “almost the people who are contesting the parliamentary seats” are indigenes.
“It is only in Greater Accra that now we have 14 MPs, only five (5) of them are Gas…. It will not matter to you, but the traditionalists, it matters to them”.
Sharing his personal experience, he said while an MP in Tema East, he was dealing with the female high priests, who would not have been comfortable working with a non-indigene.
“They cannot deal with the other people. They find it difficult”, his defence continued.
But spokesperson of the party’s polling station executives, Charles MaCcarthy, strongly opposes this move.
He said, his party chairman’s position was not scientifically informed by the 2012 election results. Providing instances to back his opposition, he argued that although about 12 parliamentary aspirants were Gas, “only 2 were able to win and even there the margins were nothing to write home about”.
He picked the 2012 parliamentary results in Ablekuma South where NPP candidate and an indigene Joseph Narh was defeated by Fredrick Fritz Baffour who won by 56 percent against Narh’s 39.7 percent. According to Charles MacCarthy, the party chairman is taking a position to defend his favourites.
“Perhaps I don’t want to say he spoke out of emotion. But one can say that they did not conduct any research. They just spoke to defend their friends and families”.
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