Bantama NPP chairman accuses Asenso-Boakye of political machinations

Chaos erupted at the Bantama Constituency office of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Monday, June 22, 2026, as rival factions clashed over allegations of widespread manipulation of the party's electoral album.

The confrontation, marked by heated verbal exchanges and insults, nearly turned violent but for the timely intervention of personnel from the Suntreso Police Command.

Following the restoration of calm, police invited the Bantama Constituency Chairman, Fiifi Mensah, and the First Vice Chairman, Kingsley Attah, popularly known as Wofa Attah, to assist with investigations.

Speaking to the media after his engagement with the police, Mr Mensah directly accused the Member of Parliament for Bantama, Francis Asenso-Boakye, of orchestrating efforts to manipulate the electoral album in favour of his preferred candidates ahead of the upcoming constituency-level elections.

According to the chairman, the previously peaceful atmosphere within the constituency was disrupted after it emerged that a significant number of long-serving delegates had been removed from the register without any justifiable reason.

"We will not allow anyone to determine who should remain in the album based on personal affiliations. The electoral album belongs to the entire party, not a select group of people," Mensah stated.

He further alleged that delegates who had faithfully served the party for between 12 and 16 years were systematically removed from the register and stripped of their voting rights because they were perceived to support his administration.

Mensah also expressed surprise at being excluded from the album compilation process despite his constitutional role as Constituency Chairman.

He alleged a double standard in the registration process, claiming that while other constituency executives, including the First Vice Chairman, the Youth Organiser and some polling station executives, were allowed to register dozens of new delegates, his own list of 19 proposed delegates was rejected on the grounds that they were his supporters.

According to him, the development violates an earlier consensus reached by the party's leadership that no existing delegates would be removed from the register ahead of the elections.

"If the elections are free, fair and peaceful, whoever wins deserves victory. I will campaign and, if I lose, I will accept the outcome honourably. But we will not accept attempts to manipulate the system to satisfy someone's selfish interests," he warned.

In a move aimed at preventing further alterations to the voter register, Mensah disclosed that he locked the room at the constituency office where copies of the electoral album are kept until the concerns raised are addressed. He, however, denied reports that he had locked the entire office.

"I am the Constituency Chairman and I am supposed to supervise the process. When I realised there were too many irregularities, I took custody of the albums because I wanted the issues resolved peacefully before the process continues," he explained.

Mensah said he had formally briefed the NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman on the matter and had been advised to submit an official petition to the appropriate national party structures for a peaceful resolution of the dispute.

The incident has heightened tensions within the Bantama Constituency as party members prepare for the upcoming internal elections.