Investigations has uncovered serious anomalies in the master delegates list of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which if not well addressed, could lead to massive rigging in the party’s presidential nomination scheduled for August 7th, 2010.
Although the paper discovered that such irregularities have been noticed marginally throughout the country, the most affected parts are in some specific polling stations in the Greater Accra and the Ashanti Regions.
With every aspirant aware of his stronghold and that of his opponents, the Adenta and Asokwa constituencies where the irregularities have been recorded in massive quantity in specific polling stations, campaign chiefs of some of the aspirants are raising serious misgivings about the impartiality of the NPP national executive towards the process.
In their estimation, the obvious fraud in the specific polling stations at the two constituencies could shore up the chances of a particular candidate.
The paper could however not establish which of the five aspiring presidential candidates could benefit from the apparent fraud. But checks conducted by the paper offer strong indignation raised by some of the presidential aspirants on the obviously flawed process.
Portions of the master list, the paper discovered either contained same pictures with different names; same pictures with different gender; while in some instances too there were blank pictures that shockingly contained names.
A source at the national executive of the NPP explained to Today that the problem came as a result of contaminated software which made it difficult for some of the pictures to be captured aside from their names, hence the blank spaces. The explanation, Today found out, was strongly objected to by some of the aspirants, saying if that was the case why would some of the pictures appear twice; with one of the same pictures being used to replace another picture of a delegate.
An election expert told Today that such anomalies had often been tricks adopted by either party officials to boost the chances of their preferred candidates or done by executives at the regional and constituency levels to enhance the chances of the candidates that they support.
According to the expert, in such circumstance, ordinary party supporters are provided with ID cards that commensurate with the names on the master delegates list that do not have pictures.
“In the case of the repetition of pictures, that is quite dangerous because often those impersonators are asked to go early to the polling station and cast early ballot. And so by the time the original picture holder comes, he/she would be recorded to have voted. That is one of the reasons why people resort to all manner disturbances during elections”, the expert narrated.
Today discovered from search that at the Adenta constituency in the Greater Accra Region, names of some prospective delegates appeared with different pictures with the University of Ghana Farm Canteen polling station as a typical example. The paper found out on the master list C094202 that one Ebenezer Gyasi Agyei, with identity card number GR1341001 and also the University Farm Canteen polling station executive chairperson had his picture repeated but with the name – Anthony Otibo, the substantive polling station executive – secretary.
The real picture of Mr Otibo with membership card number GR1341002ADE was conspicuously omitted. One shocking revelation discovered by the paper was at the Adentan Community School Complex where the picture of the poling station executive chairperson – Lawrence Asare, was missing and replaced with that of the polling station executive secretary, Patience Barnie. Lawrence Barnie Asare’s picture was not on the master delegates list.
Similar omission also occurred at the Adentan Community School Complex B where Seth Nkegbey, the polling station executive chairperson with membership number GR1111001 appeared at the picture space of Augustine Kwakye, the Adentan Community School Complex polling station secretary.
At the Adentan Apostolic polling station, most of the picture spaces were blank. There were no pictures of Cecilia Taylor, the polling station executive chairperson; Koranteng David Yaw; the polling station executive organizer; Cynthia Oduro, the polling station executive Women Organizer and Godfred Mensah K, the polling station Youth Organizer.
And at the Islamic University, Otanor also in the same constituency, the picture spaces for Prince Donkor, the polling station chairperson; Noah Kenneth Dapaah, secretary; Peter Aboagye, organizer; Georgina Amoako, the Women Organizer and that of the youth organizer were all missing.
The only executive of the polling station whose picture appeared on the master list was Samson Kojo Eduful, secretary of the station.
The Adentan Apostolic Church B polling station also recorded similar anomaly where John Koranteng, the polling station executive chairperson’s picture appearing twice. His picture was also given as that of Nana Yaw Bonney, the secretary of the station, with the Church of Christ Sraha also in the Adentan constituency, recording similar discrepancies.
Daniel Adwedaa, the polling station executive chairperson, had his picture filling the space provided for that of David Opoku Larbi, the polling station executive secretary.
Such similar discrepancies occurred at the Edbek Academy Housing Down; Happy Home Academy; ICODEH Islamic School and the New Adentan polling stations.
The spaces provided for pictures of polling station executives in the Asokwa Girls School and the Asokwa M.A. Girls JSS were all blank.
