Rawlings: Restore NDC’S Integrity or prepare to bow out

The NDC leaders in a group photo with the founder after the visit President Jerry John Rawlings has cautioned that should the newly elected national executives of the party fail to restore its integrity then it should be ready to bow out. He noted that if the party failed to restore its integrity, it will decline to the level of the NPP and “nature will take its course.” “The weapon that we have to stay in office is our integrity. Therein lies our strength. No amount of money the NPP pushed into the last elections could defeat us. If we undermine our integrity then we should be ready to bow out,” the founder said. Speaking during a courtesy call by the newly elected National Executives of the party on the Council of Elders at his Ridge residence on Friday, former President Rawlings said “the biggest weapon we have in our arsenal to defeat our enemies is our integrity.” The founder noted that the NDC could do much better than it was doing, stating that every effort that can be put in place to restore the party’s integrity should be employed. “That is what we did to defeat the NPP. We cannot do that unless we do our own internal cleansing,” he said. Touching on the recently held party elections across the country, the Founder called for investigations into electoral malpractices that characterised the process. He said some delegates were imposed on the party in certain areas. In others the security agencies were used to prevent some legitimate candidates from exercising their rights. “If we sweep these under the carpet we will remain weak. Our strength comes from recognised personnel who have worked hard amongst us,” he stated. Former President Rawlings who is also the Chairman of the Council of Elders admonished the party not to perpetuate the misdeeds of the NPP. “We cannot rectify the misdeeds of the NPP if we cannot cleanse our own selves.” The NDC founder said hundreds who had suffered persecution under the NPP should have their cases reviewed and justice restored to them. He said some lost their jobs because of ethnic or political affiliation and such victims should be invited to state their cases for investigations. “You will be surprised at the thousands of letters you will receive,” he said. The former President called for investigations into the conduct of some District Chief Executives who are working against the aspirations of the country and ignoring and disrespecting the party machinery. He also called for an enquiry into the conduct of the 2008 elections. He said it was important that the party intervened to prevent the destruction of ballots in areas where fraud was reportedly perpetrated so they can be investigated, as a failure to do so will allow fraud in the next elections again. Earlier party Chairman, Dr. Kwabena Adjei who introduced the newly elected executives, praised the party for a smooth Congress and said the newly elected executive had constituted a sub-committee to recommend nominations to the Council of Elders, which had been depleted over time. “We will hold a NEC meeting on February 4 and that meeting will fill the vacuum and legitimise our FEC so things do not go awry,” he said. Dr Adjei said the party was weakened when some of its most experienced members were appointed into government but Congress had restored that strength. Council of Elders member, Harry Sawyerr who also addressed the meeting congratulated members for a peaceful election and said the Council will work very closely with the executives and offer advice when needed. The Council, Mr. Sawyerr said was looking forward to nominations to the Council of Elders. Source: President Jerry John Rawlings