The Volta Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Makafui Kofi Woanya has been accused of causing disaffection and creating disunity within the party in Ketu South.
This, according to aggrieved party supporters was exhibited during the constituency executive elections.
This paper has established that Makafui Kofi woanya’s attitude on that day brought division within the rank and file of party, and if care is not taken, it will take the party the next 15 years to amend and recover the trust of the people.
During last weekend’s elections held on the 10th of July 2022, the candidates were requested to provide their polling agents to assist them in observing the elections.
Each candidate provided two agents to monitor the elections.
However, as the election progressed, the Regional Chairman stormed the hall and ordered all poling agents out from the hall, as he tried to change the voter album which was being used by the Electoral Commission officials, with another album he brought to the election ground.
He directed that the elections should be stopped and that the regional deputy women organizer should present the album he brought to the EC officials to use which the official of the electoral commission refused.
He did not know what to do, hence, further directing the police to drag out polling agents out of the elections hall.
The police who were the to protect and ensure there is peace, complied with his orders and drag agents from the hall.
Aggrieved candidates revealed that, officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) having seen that the hall was free of agents started issuing two ballot papers each to some delegates.
Delegates who were mistaken to belong to a preferred candidate of the Chairman and were given two ballot papers, came out to expose what was happening in the hall.
Nothing however, was done to stop this internal elections malpractice.
Some people were alleged to have voted three times in the full glare of the security forces.
“This sort of flippant manner by which our regional chairman conducted himself is a serious concern to us here in Ketu South. There was a commanding force in the elections giving instructions to the Electoral Commissioner on what they should do to favor one particular candidate. Now he has brought disunity to the party which will take a number of years to recover. What at all were the police from Accra sent to do here to do? To monitor fraudulent elections which did not have any transparency? How can a whole regional chairman say that polling agents are not needed for internal elections:,” a candidate asked.
According to them, there was no intelligent gathering to prevent this internal election malpractice where people were given three ballots papers to vote for one particular candidate with the support of the security forces who came to monitor the elections even though numerous complaints were made to them and the EC officials.
They believe these developments were “planned and coordinated.”
