EC official sacked over NPP parliamentary primaries

The Electoral Commission has sacked an electoral officer of Adjen Kotoku Kojo at Ga West Municipal District of the Greater Accra Region for breaching specific instructions.

The said official is said to have counted and announced the results of the polling station in the ongoing New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primaries before the stipulated time.

According to reports, the official agreed with the polling agents, opened the box, counted the ballots, and announced the results after all delegates had cast their ballot although there were specific instructions from the EC that voting begins at 7 am and ends at 1 pm.

The decision to count and announce before 1 pm has cost the official his job, said Peace FM’s Nana Yaw Kesse. The journalist reports that John Kwame Amoah, Greater Accra Regional Director of the Electoral Commission communicated to him that the said official is one of the temporal staff of the commission.

NPP delegates are voting to elect parliamentary candidates for 168 constituencies.

This exercise is the second phase after the first phase of the primaries came off in September 2019 in constituencies with no sitting Members of Parliament.

A total of 374 aspirants are contesting in the 168 constituencies. Out of the 374 persons, 325 are men while 51 are women.

Constituencies said to be hotspots include Dome Kwabenya in the Greater Accra Region. Deputy Majority Leader and Minister of State in charge of Public Procurement, Adwoa Safo locks horns with Mike Oquaye Junior, Ghana's High Commissioner to India.

The rest are Tema West, Tema East, Ablekuma North, Adentan, Adansi Asokwa, Bantama, Manhyia North, Asante Akim South, Sunyani East and Berekum East.