When the over 5,000 delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) across the ten regions of the country go to the polls tomorrow, January 25, 2014 to exercise their franchise to elect the next regional executives of the party out of the over 250 contenders, intrigues, shocks, drama and jaw-dropping experiences will be witnessed.
One of such regions which will experience jaw-dropping events is the Ashanti Region (the world bank of the party), where former Deputy Attorney General, Osei Prempeh will be testing his popularity and pulse against a more politically wired and financial power-house, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, now christened BAB, but popularly known as ‘Wontumi’, to wit ‘you can’t’.
Wontumi, according to the delegates, is so primed for the chairmanship in the region that political heavy-weights in the region as: Dr. Amoaku Tuffour, Maxwell Kofi Jumah and lesser figures as coordinating directors of the various constituencies have thrown their weights behind him to gallantly ascend to the chairmanship post.
Already out of his benevolence and good-will, he paid the cost of the nomination forms for all the candidates aspiring to contest for the various positions and every other cost involving the running of the elections from the polling station, the 47 constituencies, and the region.
Aside that, the Hansol Mining boss, last Wednesday, handed over the keys to a 3-storey building he had rented for ten years, to be used as the Regional Administration for the party in Kroforom in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi.
His strategy on the structural, operational, research and administrative running of the party in the event that he wins the chairman tomorrow has raised eye brows with his main contender, allegedly accusing Wontumi of vote-buying and influencing the party hierarchy three days to the elections.
Address the pack supporters at the news party headquarters, Bernard Anywi Boasiako to the crowd that he was ready to capture the Asawase constituency back to the NPP since the region formed the world bank of the party.
“I will deliver victory to the party. Never will it happen that NPP supporters will be intimidated in our home region during elections. We shall not use violence but we shall make sure our message will go down will that the peoples will have no choice than to vote for us”, he assured.
The paper gathered that Preparations are far advanced; everything is in place, ballot papers have been printed and waiting to be dispatched to the various regions by the Electoral Commission officers who are going to supervise the elections.
The positions being contested at the regional level are Chairman, First Vice Chairman, Second Vice Chairman, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Organiser, Nasara Co-ordinator, Treasurer, Women’s Organiser and Youth Organiser Meanwhile, Obetsebi-Lamptey, the national chairman of the party said reports which the national office was receiving from the regions indicated that everything was moving well and, therefore, the party was “hopeful there will be peaceful elections on Saturday”.
He encouraged voters to strive to get to the polling centres on time, cast their votes and allow the Electoral Commission (EC) to do its work without any interference.
“This is not a do-or-die affair; it is only a simple internal competition," he told the media.
