The Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will hold an Intra-Party Advisory Committee meeting today with all stakeholders, including the flag bearer hopefuls for the smooth conduct of the November 4 presidential primary. 

The meeting is to agree on and address any challenges the aspirants might have identified during their campaigns ahead of the election to elect a flag bearer for the 2024 general elections.

The Chairman of the PEC, Prof. Mike Oquaye, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic last Saturday, reiterated the commitment of the committee to ensure a transparent, free and fair election.

Appeal

 Prof. Oquaye, a former Speaker of Parliament, appealed to all aspirants and their agents to co-operate with officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Ghana Police Service to ensure a peaceful and successful elections on November 4, 2023.

He said to ensure the successful conduct of the polls, the EC was handling the entire electoral process and the police would manage the security aspect of the polls.

“No persons, whether government, party official or otherwise whatsoever, shall act in contravention to the guidelines of the EC,” he said.

Proxy votes

Prof. Oquaye said the party had also put in place measures to ensure that no aspirant or their assigns engaged in proxy vote buying to the disadvantage of the other aspirants.

He said to successfully file for a proxy, one should show proof of absence or cause of one’s inability to be physically present at the voting centre.

“An affidavit or a declaration from a Commissioner of Oaths must accompany every application.  

Proxy list will be published for public information and verification,” he added.

“We will not allow proxy contractors or traffic contractors in the proxy application process.

We cannot allow this to undermine the credibility and integrity of the process,” he stressed.

Prof. Oquaye said the PEC had also directed that there would be no congregation on the day of voting, hence no provision would be made to address delegates or the public by any national party executive, any government official, regional party executive, constituency executives, contestants or their representatives on the day of the voting.

Voting

He said as part of the measures, voting would not take place indoors but in an open place in the full glare of the public.

“Any person found directing a delegate on which contestant to vote for commits an offence and shall be removed by the police,” he stated.

Prof. Oquaye said the EC and the police “shall enforce and adhere to restricting delegates from taking their phones and other electronic photographic gadgets to the voting screen.”

Any vote that had been shown to the public, he added, would be nullified.

He said the police had also been directed to deny and arrest influencers, “machomen” and undesignated persons.

He said presiding officers were also not to call out names of delegates in the queue to vote, adding that individuals would walk to the officials and they would be assisted to vote accordingly.

SOURCE: GraphicOnline