NPP elections to last for seven hours

Accra, July 5, GNA - New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Monday said voting in its "Special Flag-Bearership Election," slated for Saturday, August 7, at all the 230 constituencies nation-wide would start at 0800 hours to 1500 hours.

The party has designated all 230 constituencies as polling stations for the election which would be supervised by the Electoral Commission, Mr Fred Oware, First National Vice Chairman, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Accra.

Mr Oware affirmed that the NPP's historic election would come on as scheduled and every eligible delegate must cast his or her vote without any fear of intimidation.

"The final poll results could be declared within three hours after the end of voting," he stated, stressing that the voting procedures would follow the same procedure for national elections.

On activities at each of the 230 polling stations, Mr Oware explained that each polling station, have indelible ink for marking voters and thumbprint pads for marking the ballot papers, a voters' register and ballot papers based on the number of voters on the register.

He said after the polls, each polling station would announce the results and transmit the certified results to EC headquarters for coalition, "after which the EC would inform the NPP headquarters of the outcome". "A National Officer would then announce the results in the presence of all the aspirants or their accredited representatives at the NPP National Headquarters in Accra by 1800 hours," he added.

"The voting pattern would be transparent at each point of the process through an identifiable glaring system, which would make it impossible for any one to cheat".

"The result of any polling station where the number of votes cast would exceed the number of registered voters would be cancelled," he added. Mr Oware urged delegates especially representatives of aspirants and the media to avoid making wild allegations about imagined electoral fraud and suspicions because one could not get things done in his favour. He condemned those who falsely believe the elections would be rigged and said people were making pronouncements that tended to erode confidence in the elaborate electoral system adopted by the party. Mr Oware explained that the whole country was now classified as one constituency with 230 polling stations, adding "even though each polling station declares its own results, obviously the overall winner of the election cannot be known until the results from all the polling stations have compiled".

He said all regional officers were required to vote within the (constituency) polling station where the office was located, whilst all National Officers including National Council Members, and Overseas Branch delegates would vote at a special polling station to be cited at the National Headquarters.

All other eligible delegates including sitting Members of Parliament, TESCON Representatives, and Original Founding Members of the Party would vote within their constituencies.

Mr Oware debunked speculations of vote rigging, stressing that: "all eligible delegates are known members of the community, and we are using a voter register with photo affixed to their names for easy identification".