Supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Manhyia South Constituency have embarked on a protest march to the Ashanti Regional Secretariat over what they say are deliberate attempts to impose their chairman on them.
According to the angry supporters, Constituency Chairman S.A. Alhassan, who has been in power for the past 16 years, has broken all regulations to contest the constituency elections unopposed.
They even accuse him of bloating the register for the polls by virtually hand-picking nine members from each branch to have him endorsed.
The supporters claim the issue has gone as far as to the national secretariat, from where General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia ordered a suspension of the exercise.
But they told Media General’s Kwame Baffoe Agyekum at the regional secretariat on Tuesday that the constituency chairman was seen distributing forms to some members without the full consensus of all.
The protesting members said they suspect the regional executive to be complicit in all what is happening.
A petition sighted by 3news.com and signed by members of four branches in the constituency – Krofofrom, Krobo, Afia Kobi and Dichemso electoral areas – demanded that the process so far “be declared null and void”, new registers compiled and proper auditing done on the registers.
“All we want is free and fair elections both in the branches and constituency.
“If our call is not heeded [to] then we the aggrieved members of these four electoral areas namely Krofofrom-CPC, Dichemso, Krobo and Afia Kobi will advise ourselves,” the petition concluded.
They called on founder Jerry John Rawlings to intervene.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana