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The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has banned all government officials including ministers, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives, chief executive officers of state-owned enterprises, regional and constituency executives from serving as polling agents for the presidential aspirants in the party’s Special Electoral College election slated for Saturday, August 26,2023.
The party has also made the Electoral Commission (EC) headquarters in Accra the final collation centre for the polls which would take place at all the 16 Regional capitals nationwide and the party headquarter at Asylum Down in Accra.
These were contained in the guidelines issued by the Presidential Elections Committee of the NPP yesterday to regulate the conduct of the election.
It said voting shall be by secret ballot and every delegate shall be entitled to one vote and must cast their vote for a single aspirant of their choice.
It urged the EC to enforce and adhere to restricting delegates from taking their phones to the ballot booth, use complex serial numbers to avoid ballots being traced to voters, deny influencers and machomen access to the voting centre, administer walk-in standard practice and urged Presiding Officers not to call out names of delegates in the queue to vote at the voting centres.
The guidelines stipulated further that in the event of two, three or four of the aspirants sharing the total results with the remaining contestants not obtaining any votes, there will be a run-off for those who obtained zero votes to add up to the make up to the five while in the event of a tie between two or more candidates for the fifth position a run-off election will be conducted for those who will tie on Saturday, Semptember 2, 2023.
A total of 961 delegates comprising National Council, National and Regional Executive Committees, Members of Parliament, three representatives from each of the special organs of the party (Youth, Women and Nasara), past national officers, three representatives from every branch, founder members during the registration of the party at the EC, all card bearing ministers are expected to vote in the election.
It is to elect five out of the 10 aspirants who were approved by the National Council of the party for the Special Electoral College election to contest in the November 4, 2023 national congress of the party to select a presidential candidate for the 2024 general election.
It gave the venues for the election in the regions as follows: In the Ashanti Region it would be held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi; Ahafo, Pastoral Centre, Goaso; Bono, Pastoral Centre, Sunyani; Bono East, Ameyaw Akumfi Social Centre, Techiman; Central, Pempamsie Hotel, Cape Coast; Eastern, Eastern Premier Hotel, Koforidua and the Greater Accra, Accra Senior High School.
The others are Northern Region, Radach Hotel, Tamale; North East, Nalerigu Senior High School; Savannah, Damong Youth Centre; Western, Regional Library, Takoradi; Western North, Villa Boakye Hotel, Sefwi-Wiawso; Upper East, Ganas Hotel, Bolgatanga; Upper West, Upland Hotel, Wa; Oti, Damba College of Education and Volta, Pastoral Centre Ho.
The 10 aspirants as they appeared on the ballot paper for the elections are Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, number one; Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, number two; Joe Ghartey, number three; Kwadwo Poku, number four; Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, number five and Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, number six.
The rest are Francis Addai-Nimoh, seventh; Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, eighth; Boakye Kyeremanteng Agyarko, ninth; and Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia at the 10th position.
The Secretary to the Presidential Elections Committee,William Yamoah, in an interview said the rules and regulations for the Special Election College elections were formulated after extensive consultations with the various stakeholders including the presidential Aspirants.
He said the committee commended all the aspirants for their cooperation and pledged to ensure an equitable and transparent process to elect a presidential candidate for the 2024 general elections.
Mr Yamoah, said all the presidential aspirants through the Information Technology department of the party have been given soft copies of the Electoral College Album (Voter Register) as of July 26, 2023 for thorough examination and verification of the album before the Special College date.
He said the Electoral College Album, submitted to the EC and the Presidential Aspirants by the committee, shall be the only register for the conduct of the elections.
