The Extra-Ordinary National Delegates Congress of the Convention Peoples Party, has been postponed to the end of June for the second time, a Central Committee Member told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Accra on Saturday.
The Congress to elect national leaders was initially fixed for April 29th and 30th but was postponed to May 27th to 29th recently due to calls by leading members of the party including Professor Edmund Nminyem Delle, a former National Chairman of the party and other identifiable pressure groups within the party for postponement to July ending.
The CPP Central Committee Member said: “We are not even sure of the June ending date. The Central Committee is divided over the date as the radicals suggest it should be postponed to either July ending or early August, elements of the National Executives maintained June ending”.
The GNA investigations revealed that the move had, in fact, created more anxious moments among aspirants and large section of the rank and file of the party as the uncertainty makes it difficult for serious campaigning.
Other aspirants, who initially declared their intentions to contest for various National Executive positions, have shelved the ambition and the situation had led to individuals and groups piling incessant pressure on the leadership of the party to come out with a definite date for congress.
The broad masses of supporters of the party are very much disillusioned that the leadership did not take cognisance of the timing factor in re-fixing the Congress date for June, which again is not feasible.
“It is ironical that while activists of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are in the field actively trying to woo the support of the people, the CPP leadership continues to sit in the comfort of their offices in Accra,” the Central Committee member told the GNA.
Prof Delle had earlier called for rescheduling of the congress to July ending saying, "it was practically impossible to organize ward, constituency and regional conferences to elect executives before April ending, which is a mandatory prerequisite for a National Delegates Congress”.
Prof Delle, who is aspiring for the National Chairmanship slot again, gave analytical reasons for the rescheduling, noting that a minimum of two weeks was needed to organize ward and constituency congress; another two weeks for regional elections; and about two weeks for opening of nominations for National Executive Office aspirants.
He further indicated that about a week would be required for vetting of aspirants; in accordance to CPP norms, constituency conferences must follow after all the branches had been duly organised and the list of members attending the branch general meeting and constituency conferences compiled.
Prof Delle said photographs of delegates to the regional conference must be taken and the records sent to the national secretariat to facilitate the drawing up of the congress register, all these must be done before a national delegates congress.
The CPP Aspiring National Chairman therefore appealed to the National Executive Committee of the party to re-examine the Congress time schedule and make the necessary adjustments to pave the way for a successful event.