Contestant boycotts Talensi NPP Constituency Primaries

Tongo (U/E), April 30, GNA - Mr Robert Nachinaab Doameng Mosore, one of two New Patriotic Party (NPP) contestants for the Talensi Constituency parliamentary seat on Thursday boycotted the primaries, contending that "there were many unanswered questions" about the elections.

He said he boycotted the votes because a meeting held between him and the regional executive last Wednesday at which he sought to point out what he saw as irregularities with the choice of delegates to vote at the primaries did not reach any agreement and that he did not see any legitimacy in the election.


Mr Mosore said in the first place, the constituency leadership erred by approving eleven unqualified names among the delegates while removing some 28 qualified names from the list.


He said at the meeting he drew the attention of the regional leadership to the anomaly with the hope that they would be rectified before the election.


He said the regional executive disregarded his objection and conducted the election, even after he had written a formal protest letter to notify them about his concern.


The aspirant said he would take a decision should the national executives of the party fail to nullify the election and hold a fresh one.

He however did not say if he would contest the parliamentary election as an independent candidate. "My decision rests on the final word from the Headquarters on the outcome of this particular election," he contended.


The GNA heard that officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) initially refused to conduct the election, saying it could only do so upon receiving a formal explanation on the absence of Mr Mosore at the polls.


However, after about an hour's break, the EC officials returned and explained that they were directed from their superiors to go ahead and conduct the election and that should the sole candidate fail to get 50 percent of the total votes cast, the results should not be announced.


At the end of the election, Madam Mariam Khaldi Adukomaa, a businesswoman and candidate in the 2000 election got 20 votes out of 21 ballots.