Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has admitted to being heckled by some supporters of the Alan Kyerematen campaign during the recent super delegates’ conference.
According to him, the heckling was a result of some ‘gross misinformation’ concerning an issue he had responded to on a Kumasi-based radio station.
“Well, somebody had raised an issue that I had said that if a person obtained 70% of the votes, then there shouldn’t be any second round. It was gross misinformation that was being peddled because I had not said so anywhere,” he said.
He explained that what had been reported to the delegates was a misinterpretation of what he had said at the radio station, and clarified same.
“I was at Abusua FM and one of the key supporters of Alan I was told had been at Abusua and she’s called Hilda Addo. Kwadwo Marfo is the host there, so he was the one who told me the woman has said that if a person garnered 90, 95% then the rest of them should have a rethink and asked me what I thought about it.
“And I said well, our constitution provides that if there are five people there should be a rerun involving the five who come atop, however, if that is the principle that she’s espousing then even why the figure 90-95% and not 70%?” he said.
He continued, “If anybody could garner 70% it will then mean the person has really secured for himself a head start and he’s in an unassailable lead. And I quickly added, even if we come out with five of them there will be a person in the lead so we have them together with the person in the lead making five. So, out of the four if three indicate that ‘well we’re bowing out’ and one doesn’t, there would still have to be a rerun. So I said that is the position of the constitution.
“I don’t think that the four of them who will follow after the person who emerges first will bow out so the constitution should be allowed to play out. That’s what I said.”
The majority leader said he was disturbed by the heckling “because I thought it was sheer pedestrianism and people were contriving to bring violence so I ignored them because there was no truth in that.”
