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The General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Bernard Monnah has called on parties’ vetting committees to begin to implement the constitutional demand of checking the mental status of Presidential and Parliamentary candidates during vetting.

According to him, it is very important to test the mental status of candidates during vetting to ascertain the caliber of persons vying for positions as there are degree of mental status which not checked can lead to serious problem for the country.

Speaking on Oman Fm’s National Agenda Morning Show, Bernard Monnah advocated for the full implementation of the constitutional provision to focus more on the mental abilities of the candidates as suggested by the Chief Psychiatrist of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Akwesi Osei to President Mahama to undergo psychological checkup.

His advice comes on the heels on petitions filed by some NPP members to disqualify some Parliamentary candidates from going through the vetting for not meeting some of the requirements needed before vetting.

It is against this backdrop that the Chief Scribe of PNC has proposed to all parties and their vetting committees to consider the constitutional provision which demand candidates to be of sound mind before contesting for any position in the country.

He maintained that “vetting should focus more on mental status of aspirants than their ability to perform their duties”, insisting that “we should leave the leadership qualities and their financial status to the delegates to decide”.

“We should vet people on their mental abilities because some people behave in a manner which do not speak well of them; we have various degrees of mental problems and the extreme is dangerous for our societies”, he urged.