What was trumpeted to be a near-violence election at Okaikwei South Constituency of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday turned out to be peaceful election of the new executives of the party to steer the affairs of the party.
The elected peaceful and orderly manner the election was conducted by the Electoral Commission saw the party elect a former Coordinator of the Bubuashie Electoral Area, Mr. Kwame Agyei Asante, as the Constituency Chairman.
Earlier in the day, there were reports of some agitations at the Prince of Peace School at Bubuashie, where the elections were scheduled to take place. The disagreement ensued when some former delegates of the Constituency alleged that their names had been deleted from Party’s register being used to conduct the elections. However, the Regional Executives of the Party and the security services intervened, bringing the situation under control and paving way for the elections to take place.
The election itself was smooth and orderly. Some of the delegates said this is how they have always voted. They described the earlier agitations as unnecessary and said they were happy that calm had returned and the elections were going on smoothly.
When contacted, the Okaikwei South District Officer of the Electoral Commission said as a Commission, they rely on the register compiled by the Political Parties to conduct elections for the Parties. He said only persons whose names appear in the register are eligible to vote.
On her part, the Member of Parliament for the Okakwei South Constituency, Hon. Dakoa Newman said the Party’s register is compiled in accordance with due process, as prescribed by the Party’s Constitution. She said the current register being used for the elections was compiled in accordance with the Constitution and anyone aggrieved by the process has recourse to the avenues for redress provided by the Constitution.
Ms. Newman said as a Member of Parliament on the ticket of the NPP, her focus was to unite the Party in the Constituency to break the eight. “We have an election ahead of us. We have the eight to break. My main focus is to ensure that Okaikwei South comes together and contribute massively to break the eight; for breaking the eight is not only good for the party, but the people of Ghana as a whole,” the MP said.
The NPP begun elections of Constituency executives today, after electing polling station executives earlier this year. The Constituency elections would be followed by elections of regional executives and national executives before electing a flagbearer for the 2024 elections.
