The Chairman-elect of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Afigya Sekyere East Constituency, Kwaku Ofosu, has rejected the party’s decision to annul the recently held constituency executive elections, insisting that the polls were conducted freely, fairly and in accordance with the party’s rules.
Addressing a press conference following the announcement by the NPP National Elections Committee to invalidate the results of the constituency elections, Mr. Ofosu argued that there was no legal basis for the decision and called on the party’s national leadership to reverse it.
The NPP National Elections Committee annulled the elections in Afigya Sekyere East and two other constituencies after incidents of violence marred the electoral process.
However, Mr. Ofosu maintained that the election in Afigya Sekyere East reflected the genuine will of delegates and should not be overturned.
According to him, he secured an overwhelming victory, polling 77.5 percent of the valid votes cast to win the constituency chairmanship.
“As the chairman-elect of the Afigya Sekyere East Constituency, I won the election overwhelmingly with 77.5 percent of the votes. I state categorically that we will not conduct another executive election until the next four years,” he declared.
He stressed that neither his opponent nor any party member had accused the Electoral Commission officials, party executives or election organisers of manipulating the outcome.
“My opponent has not come out to accuse the Electoral Commission, myself or the party leadership of rigging or any wrongdoing. I won freely, fairly and squarely,” he said.
Mr. Ofosu further noted that the other elected constituency executives had also not faced any petitions or allegations of electoral malpractice.
“My fellow executives have not received any challenge, allegation or complaint of rigging. They won freely, fairly and legitimately,” he added.
The Chairman-elect insisted that the democratic choice of delegates must be respected and warned against organising another election for the constituency.
“I say it again, there will not be any election. The next election we should be preparing for is the one to elect Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the next President of Ghana,” he stated.
Mr. Ofosu appealed to the NPP’s national leadership to review its decision, arguing that since there was no valid court order restraining the conduct of the election, the results should stand.
The NPP is yet to respond to his latest comments, while the party’s National Elections Committee maintains that the annulment forms part of efforts to safeguard the integrity of the internal electoral process following disturbances recorded in some constituencies.
By 1960news.com
