Candidates for national executive posts in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been instructed to follow all applicable election regulations by the Electoral Commission (EC) and Ghana Police Service (GPS).
When they met with all the candidates and the party's election committee, which is presided by by Peter Mac Manu, a former chairman of the NPP, top officials of the EC and the police election committee delivered the advise last Friday.
The National Delegates Conference for the NPP, which will elect its national officials, is scheduled to take place in the Accra Sports Stadium from Friday, July 15, to Sunday, July 17, 2022.
Therefore, the meeting last Friday with the EC and the police was a part of the party's preparations for the delegates' conference.
Follow the law
Elections are controlled by rules, thus it is essential that candidates and especially their supporters observe those regulations, according to Dr. Serebuor Quarcoo, Director of Electoral Services of the EC and one of the EC officials present at the meeting.
The police informed them during the conference that it would execute the law if anyone broke the electoral regulations, he added. He claims that at the meeting, the EC walked the candidates and the election committee through the procedures and modalities of the polls.
He stated that the EC planned to set up 26 voting places and hoped to complete the election process in about five hours. In order to guarantee that the EC efficiently carried out its role of overseeing the elections, he reiterated that the EC was actively training its personnel for the polls.
He explained, "The NPP is in charge of the elections, but our job is to oversee the polls in accordance with the laws of the nation."
Sensitisation
Evans Nimako, the NPP's director of elections and research, told the Daily Graphic that the gathering was a chance for all election participants—the candidates, the organising committee, the EC, and the security services—to get together and discuss how to effectively organise the polls.
He said that the candidates had been made aware of the importance of the elections and the necessity for them and their supporters to act in a way that would not jeopardise the NPP's democratic tenets.
"We talked about the register, the voting process, and other things. The election organising committee reassured them that all of their worries regarding proxy voting would be correctly addressed when they expressed reservations about it, he added.
Additionally, he stated that there were clear norms and procedures regulating political party elections, and the party would not defend anybody who disobeyed them.
We expect the police to follow through on their assurance to us that they would investigate any matter involving a legal infraction during the conduct of the elections. "This stakeholder involvement will guarantee that we have a seamless arrangement for a successful election," Mr. Nimako remarked in reference to the NPP's implementation of steps that would ensure free, fair, transparent, and credible elections.
Delete the billboards
The NPP National Council has also mandated that all candidate billboards in open areas be taken down.
The removal of the billboards was part of new regulations imposed by the party for the conduct of the elections, according to a statement dated July 7, this year, and signed by Yaw Buaben Asamoa, the party's director of communications.
Other changes to the regulations included a full ban on excessive noise during the delegate meeting, such as brass bands, and a prohibition on mobilising supporters of the candidates to the conference and prohibiting the exhibition of any candidate memorabilia at the meeting's location, the Accra Sports Stadium.
The security procedures will be strictly enforced. In order to do this, only delegates and authorised visitors will be permitted entry to the location, the statement continued.