Some NPP supporters in Effiduase-Asokore are challenging the outcome of primaries election which saw the retention of incumbent Member of Parliament, Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie.
They have served notice of petitioning the party’s regional leadership to annul the MP’s landslide victory they say was preceded by irregularities and foul-play in the poll.
The supporters allege Dr Ayew Afriyie conspired with constituency executives to delete their names from the delegate album to disenfranchise them.
The agitated supporters are mainly polling station executives behind one of the candidates, Kwame Adom-Appiah, in a two-horse race.
The election was nearly marred by incidents of ballot-snatching and physical assault of another contestant and his agents.
Kwame Adom-Appiah sustained injuries after being attacked allegedly some military personnel.
He was admitted at the Emergency Unit of the Effiduase Government Hospital during the primaries
Mr. Adom-Appiah’s supporters, including former MP, Boakye Agyin, accused Dr. Ayew Afriyie of orchestrating the attacks.
About 20 of them did not find their names in the constituency’s album. One of them is Agyei Stephen, Secretary of Effiduase District Court polling station.
“They told me that the name that appears there is not my name; it’s somebody’s name. That is, Agyei Serwaa. Meanwhile I am the polling station secretary.
They have changed the name, Agyei Stephen and it has become Agyei Serwaa,” he said.
For Emmanuel Amo, an elected polling station organiser for the Effiduase Methodist Primary School ‘A’, the alleged plot to disenfranchise especially members of Adom-Appiah’s campaign team was conceived by the MP from day one.
“The MP keeps on saying that he has 90 per cent of the total votes and then the lawyer has 10% not knowing that he has tempered with the register and then changed all our names,” Mr Amo lamented.
The supporters want the Ashanti regional executives to act on their petition.
“Our petition is at the regional secretariat so we will make follow-ups. I can bet with my last coin, the incumbent MP can never win this election if the election has been conducted freely and fairly,” says Amo Emmanuel, polling station executive.
For former MP Boakye Agyin, he blames the current development in on the constituency executives who have connived with the Member of Parliament.
“Party executives have not managed the affairs well to culminate into this situation, of course, I am not afraid to say that. It favours the incumbent MP.”
The MP who denied allegations went ahead to win 80 per cent of votes cast to the delight of his followers.
” I don’t have an idea of why my people couldn’t find their names and why about 7 or 10 of his people couldn’t find their names in. But that shouldn’t result to picking the album and then when you pick an album and you get arrested, then your followers come to forcefully to rescue you.
So first of all they are trying to undermine the authority of the military and the police trying to bring peace,” he says.
Ashanti Regional Organiser of the NPP, Francis Adomako, admits the incident was a blip on the process, as he calls for unity.
It was a routine win for Philip Basoah and Amma Pomaah Boateng in Kumawu and Juaben Constituencies, respectively.
Mr. Basoah, a former DCE in the Kuffuor administration, made light work of three other contestants.
They include Deputy Trade Minister, Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, who managed 52 votes.
In Juaben, Amma Pomaah’s sole challenger, Alexander Oppong-Poku, polled eight votes short of the incumbent’s 192 votes.
The two however commit promised to working together for NPP victory.
Some supporters of the party invoked curses on any of the executives who would be part of machinations to push the Member of parliament for the area into unopposed.
Three of them, all polling station executives at Damang Electoral Area in Juaben have since been suspended.
In Juaben, Amma Pomaah’s sole challenger, Alexander Oppong-Poku, polled eight votes short of the incumbent’s 192 votes.
The two however commit promised to working together for NPP victory.
Some supporters of the party invoked curses on any of the executives who would be part of machinations to push the Member of parliament for the area into unopposed.
Three of them, all polling station executives at Damang Electoral Area in Juaben have since been suspended.
