The 13-member Kwesi Botchwey Committee constituted and mandated to
investigate what caused the embarrassing defeat of the NDC at the 2016
polls yesterday (June 19, 2017) presented a 455-page report to the
National Executive Council detailing the party’s shortfall hence defeat.
But General Secretary of the party, Asiedu Nketia who spoke to
ghanaweb.com exclusively described the voluminous report as inconclusive
on the outcomes on the NDC’s 2016 electoral misfortunes.
‘The report is one aspect of the whole exercise we are undertaking and
in fact, the report itself cannot be conclusive as to why we lost the
election. We are taking the views of our party members on why we lost
the election.’
Asiedu Nketia also asserted that the party is only interested in the
recommendation of the report, adding that the National Executive Council
is yet to weigh the credibility of the committee’s findings and
recommendations.
‘All that we will be interested in will be the recommendations and how
we will put them into effect. Committees of this nature may come up with
findings, so publishing everything in the report may generate further
controversies ’
According to Asiedu Nketia, the report is a very important component of
the NDC’s preparation towards 2020 election but not the ‘’all-in-all’ of
the NDC.
Meanwhile, the report which had a subtitled “listening to the voice of
the grassroots”, pressed the NDC leadership to consider the peace-making
and healing tour as “extremely important”.
The Committee also touched on issues relating to the party’s biometric
register which become a source of discontent within the grassroots.
Prof. Kwesi Botchwey committee recommended that party must work to
“restore the integrity of the biometric register” adding that expansion
of the electoral college to include ordinary party members needs to be
re-examined to restore confidence in the party’s democratic novelty.
