New Patriotic Party delegates in the Ayawaso Central constituency in the Greater Accra Region are agitated over demand for accreditation by security officers before entry into the polling station to cast their votes in the party’s ongoing parliamentary primary.
The delegates said they were not informed of the directive. The situation has delayed the commencement of voting in the area.
Meanwhile, the police at the Yendi Senior High School in the Northern Region, as part of measures, are also taking the mobile phones of delegates to avoid any picture-taking before they allow them vote.
The voting centre is getting heated as some supporters of the candidates are at the main gate, preventing others who are not delegates and are perceived as opponents from entering. The situation nearly degenerated into chaos.
In the lead-up to the primaries, there was a series of injunctions that characterized the vetting processes.
The party in December 2023 elected parliamentary candidates in its orphan constituencies.
Some sitting MPs who are going unopposed have been acclaimed in their various constituencies. Their counterparts declared their intentions not to seek re-election, citing different reasons.
The decisions by these influential MPs, some political activists, and stakeholders argue, will negatively affect the activities in Parliament.
Many new faces have emerged in the race, hoping to win the primaries to represent the constituencies they find themselves in.
Incumbent MPs who are also seeking re-election are hopeful of winning the primaries to propel them to the 2024 general elections.
The NPP’s General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, addressing journalists, warned that the violation of rules by party faithful, machomen [well-built men], and delegates would not be countenanced.
Today’s primaries will witness the fall of some sitting MPs and the rise of new faces as the party’s parliamentary candidates, who will face off with their rivals in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), other candidates from other political parties, and independent parliamentary candidates.