News:
November 22, 2015
Member of Parliament (MP) for Gomoa Central, Florence Rachel Appoh, is accusing the leadership of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Central Region of manipulating the electoral process in her constituency to favour her political opponents.
According to her, she does not understand why all the voters register in the various constituencies in Central Region are intact apart from that of Gomoa Central.
What is more worrying, she lamented in an interview with Kwaku Owusu Adjei on Kasapa 102.3 FM, was the fact that the voters register being used in the polling stations in her strongholds are not consistent with the data that was collated during the re-registration exercise.
“We have crosschecked from all the constituency chairmen in the region and all the details about their voters register are intact with the exception of Gomoa Central, and to be precise, my stronghold. So, why is it that in my case where we filled the challenge form and submitted it for the re-registration exercise but the details have not been released? They brought the forms and my constituency executives did the work and submitted it. All the areas that are my stronghold, the details did not come. But in the case of my opponent, like Mangoase, go and see the number of people who registered. At one place in my strongholds, 600 electorates’ names were not in the register, in some places, 55, 20, 80, 70, why?”.
She told Owusu Adjei that even though she is disappointed about happenings in the party, she was very optimistic of victory by the close of the day.
“This will never affect my chances of winning. I won’t lose but I don’t want any of my political opponents to get closer. I am challenging all those who are hiding behind some people seeking for my exit in Parliamemnt that by 6:00pm today, I will be declared winner in the contest. After that I will go ahead to win the 2016 parliamentary elections.”
Florence Rachel Appoh is contesting againt three others for the party’s parliamentary seat ahead of the 2016 elections.
Today’s polls should begin the process leading to the party’s preparations for the 2016 elections.
Some 7000 Policemen from the Ghana Police Service are taking part in today’s parliamentary and presidential primaries of the ruling National Democratic Congress.
The Service has assured its men have been adequately briefed in what they are anticipating will be a smooth process.
Today’s process is happening a year before the Party come face to face with the main opposition New Patriotic Party, who have since settled on its parliamentary candidates as well as Presidential.
The Party has suspended elections in six constituencies due to outstanding issues.
Ketu South, North Tongu and Nkwanta South constituencies in the Volta Region, have been left out of today’s process.
The rest are Akwatia Constituency in the Eastern Region, Chiana-Paga in the Upper East Region and Bunkpurugu Constituency in the Northern Region.
Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Koku Anyidoho said the cancellation of elections in the aforementioned constituencies is due to either court actions or incomplete vetting processes.
Today’s process was preceded by elections in the Amenfi West Constituency in the Western Region as part of the pilot of the new biometric process the ruling Party is exploring for the first time.
Polling is taking place in some 269 constituencies.