PNC opens nominations for 2012 parliamentary election in Upper West

The Upper West Regional Secretariat of the People’s National Convention (PNC) has opened nominations for the 2012 parliamentary election in the Region.

At a news conference in Wa, Mr. Issahaque Awudulai, PNC Regional Secretary announced that nominations for all the 10 constituencies would  start on February 23 and close on March 8.

He said nomination forms would be made available at all constituency offices throughout the Region and would be given out to prospective candidates after the payment of a non-refundable fee of GH¢200.

At the completion of forms, party executives would not accept the completed forms until prospective candidates paid a filing fee of GH¢1,000, he said.

Female aspirants would pay no fee for filing and the idea is to encourage more capable and willing female politicians to aspire to the higher office of parliament.

Prospective candidates would go through vetting process in accordance with the party’s stipulated modalities to ensure that only competent and eligible candidates were put up to contest the elections on the ticket of the PNC, Mr. Awudulai said.

He added that where more than one person qualified to contest for a constituency, primaries would be conducted for the candidates in such constituencies on the basis of single majority to elect one of the candidates to represent the party at the elections.

However, in constituencies where there was only one candidate there would still be a constituency conference to do a popular acclamation or rejection of such candidates, Mr. Awudulai explained.

The National Leadership of PNC at a National Executive Committee’s (NEC) meeting held in January this year outlined the roadmap to the nomination and election of prospective parliamentary candidates for the party.

At that meeting, power was vested in the Regional Secretariat of the party to fix dates for the filing of nomination forms.

Source: GNA