John Boadu
Aspirants from seven constituencies were successfully vetted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Vetting Committee on Monday, which was the first day of the exercise.
Sam Pyne, the Ashanti Regional NPP Secretary, told the media yesterday that the exercise took off smoothly without any major hitches and he was expecting a similar atmosphere in the coming days.
He refused to mention names of the seven constituencies that were vetted, but he was quick to state that the various aspirants cooperated well with the vetting committee, which is made up of top NPP members.
Sam Pyne indicated that in general aspirants from 44 constituencies would be vetted, pointing out that the remaining constituencies would also go through the process from Tuesday to Thursday.
He said the vetting exercise would be on a temporary break on March 6, 2020, which is Ghana’s Independence Day, and also on Saturday for the funeral of the mother of the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, at Bosomtwe.
According to him, the vetting process would continue after the two-day break.
Sam Pyne, during an interview with Kumasi-based Nhyira FM, stated that the initial decision to group the 44 constituencies into two groups was dropped at the last minute on Monday, saying, “We are now working with just one group.”
He announced that the vetting committee had received several petitions but he was not ready to publicly go into the issues raised, noting that the committee would incorporate the petitions received into their final reports.
Sam Pyne, who is a member of the committee, stated emphatically that the party’s decision to ban aspirants from storming the vetting venue with their supporters was still being enforced and offenders would be punished.
Sam Pyne commended the aspirants that were vetted on Monday for cooperating, saying, “We expect the remaining aspirants to also respect this party rule.”
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi