Preparations are almost complete for the 10th National Delegates Congress of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), slated for the Accra Sports Stadium tomorrow.
It will be an elective congress and delegates from all the constituencies in the country, including former government appointees of the party, will be eligible to vote to elect fresh leaders to steer the affairs of the party going into the 2024 general election.
Aside from former government appointees, constituency and regional executives of the party will also partake in the election.
The congress will be a big test case for the party, as delegates will be torn between electing their 17-year long-serving General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, as the party’s new National Chairman or maintaining the incumbent, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, to lead the party for the next four years.
In the NDC circles, the euphoria is rising especially after the Youth and Women’s Congress in Cape Coast last week, as contestants make last-minute efforts in their campaign to court the votes of delegates.
When the Daily Graphic visited the Accra Sports Stadium yesterday afternoon, it observed that the venue was being prepared for the event, with people busily working on the setup.
While carpenters and electricians were still working to get the stadium units ready for the much-anticipated congress including a dais for dignitaries, fabrics in red, green, black and white colours, which define the NDC, were being draped at all the significant places.
Also, giant banners and posters of the 63 candidates slugging it out for the various positions adorned the entrance and premises of the stadium.
The Chairman of the Publicity Committee of the congress, Samuel Gyamfi, told the Daily Graphic that logistical preparations were almost complete at the stadium where the 9,000 delegates would assemble for the biggest event on the party’s calendar.
Briefing the media on the preparations for the congress, Mr Gyamfi said the seating and protocol arrangements would be communicated to all participants including the media by 4 p.m. today to help guide the coverage and attendance of the event.
On media accreditation, he said so far, about 100 applications for accreditation have been received and were being sorted to be issued by today.
Mr Gyamfi said members of the publicity committee would be available all day on various media platforms to provide more insight to the general public on efforts being made and provisions being put in place to ensure a smooth congress devoid of mishaps.
“A lot has gone into the planning and we are anticipating a successful event as the party has come a long way in the organisation of such events and it is instructive to say that this is the 10th congress in the 30 years’ history of the party,” Mr Gyamfi stressed.
The Chairman of the Grounds Committee of the congress, Kofi Adams, explained that agents of the 63 candidates would have to show up at the event with their accreditation to gain access to the stadium.
“The Ghana Police Service is in charge of security and you will have to be accredited. Anyone without a tag will not be admitted because it’s not a rally but a congress,” he emphasised.
Mr Adams explained that the NDC had the highest number of delegates among political parties in the country, hence the need to limit the attendance of non-delegates.
“We have the highest number of delegates and we always do it for the others to follow,’’ he said.
The Chairman of the NDC National Delegates Congress Planning Committee, Alex Segbefia, in an interview last Tuesday, assured the public that adequate security arrangements had been put in place to ensure an incident-free congress on Saturday.
He said with the measures put in place, in collaboration with the police, he was confident of a successful congress.
Mr Segbefia said the committee, at its meeting last Monday to assess the party’s National Women and Youth Conference held at the University of Cape Coast, has had to review and scale up its security plans.
The Women and Youth Conference, held last Saturday, recorded some acts of violence resulting in the injury of two persons.
Following that, the party has decided to put in place enhanced security measures in collaboration with the police for the congress.
He said the committee had also condemned the incident and called for swift action by the police to bring the perpetrators to book to forestall any future occurrence.
Since the incident, the police have stated to declare 16 persons wanted for their involvement in the disturbances that took place at the Women and Youth Conference of the NDC.
It, subsequently, placed a bounty of GH¢10,000.00 on the suspects and called on the public to assist the police to arrest them.
Source: Daily Graphic
