Stephen Ntim
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is set to hold its Super Delegates Conference Saturday August 26, 2023.
This conference will see the 10 aspirants trimmed to five, ahead of the crucial national conference scheduled to take place on November 4, 2023.
This special electoral college has been described as a prelude to the national conference where the party’s flag bearer for the 2024 general election will be announced.
The 10 flagbearer hopefuls have been campaigning tirelessly, travelling across the country to woo the delegates with their plans to transform the Ghanaian economy and lead the NPP to break the eight-year cycle of governance between the party and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
They have also been selling their competence and sense of nationalism to mobilise all Ghanaians to buy into their vision.
The 956 delegates expected to vote will assess the competence and general appeal of each aspirant and their ability to win the 2024 general election. Ethnic and religious backgrounds this time may not play a role in selecting the five aspirants to proceed to the national conference. The conference has been described as crucial as Ghanaians have tasted the eight-year rule of the NPP and the opposition NDC.
The Presidential Elections Committee has been constituted to help conduct the elections with the assistance of the Electoral Commission and the Ghana Police Service, ensuring that the elections are free, fair, and transparent.
The guidelines for the elections have been issued to inform stakeholders in the electoral process to abide by the rules and regulations governing the polls.
The polls will be held in all 16 regional capitals and the party headquarters in Accra, with the EC headquarters as the final collation centre.
No aspirant will appoint government officials and any delegate intending to vote in the election as agents.
The EC and the police should enforce and prevent delegates from taking their phones and other photographic gadgets to the voting screen.
Furthermore, the EC will use complex serial numbers to avoid ballots being traced to voters at a later date, and that the Electoral Management body should deny influencers and heavily built men access to the voting centres.
The poll will start at 9am and close at 1pm at all centres, and ballots will be counted and declared immediately after the close of poll at each voting centre.
Each aspirant will have two accredited agents, and the presiding officer at the voting centre will declare the results, which will be sent via WhatsApp to a platform created by the EC and collated at the EC head office. Failure of an agent to sign the results would not invalidate the announcement by the presiding officer.
The NPP has announced the venues for the election in the various regions.
The Asante region will have their elections at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Law Faculty, Kumasi. Goaso’s Pastoral Centre will host those in Ahafo, while Sunyani’s Pastoral Centre will welcome those in Bono. Kokroko Social Centre in Techiman will be the venue for Bono East while the Quadrangle, UCC, Cape Coast will hold elections in Central region.
Elections in the Eastern region will be held at the Koforidua Senior High Technical School.
Also, the venue for Greater Accra region is YMCA, Adabraka, Accra, while Tamale College of Education will host those in the Northern region. Nalerigu Senior High School will be the venue for North East region, while Damongo Youth Centre will hold elections for those in Savannah. Bolgatanga Technical University Library Complex will host Upper East region, while Old UDS Campus in Wa will be the venue for Upper West. Elections in Oti region will be held at Dambai College of Education, while the Catholic Secretariat (Bishop Koning Centre) will host Volta region.
Furthermore, elections in Western region will be held at the Great Hall, Takoradi Technical University while Sefwi Wiawso’s Pastoral Centre will hold elections in Western North. Lastly, the NPP headquarters in Asylum Down, Accra, will hold elections for the party’s card-bearing ministers, as well as founder members.
It’s expected to be a tight race, and the eyes of Ghanaians will be on the NPP as it approaches the 2024 general elections.
By Vincent Kubi