Alan Kyerematen, a flag bearer aspirant of the governing New Patriotic Party, is raising concerns about the decision by the National Elections Committee regarding the August 25, 2023 super delegates conference.
The conference aims to narrow down the aspirants to five, leading up to the November 2023 presidential primary, which will determine the party’s standard bearer for the 2024 general elections.
The issue at hand is the decision to serialise the ballot papers for this process, a decision that Mr Kyerematen’s camp believes could compromise the integrity of the voting process.
Serialisation of ballot papers carries the risk of traceability, potentially leading to victimisation during and after the proceedings, the camp said.
Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, a spokesperson for the “Alan for President 2024” campaign and a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tema West Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, voiced these concerns to the media on August 14, 2023.
He acknowledged that while there might be speculations circulating within the party circles, the best course of action would be for the party to reconsider the decision to serialise the ballot papers.
Mr Ahenkorah stressed that such a decision could expose voters to various forms of victimisation, particularly considering the presence of a system candidate in the race.
He went on to stress that actions like these make intra-party politics more hazardous than inter-party politics.
He called upon the National Elections Committee to prioritise safeguarding the integrity of the voting process in all elections.
Additionally, Mr Ahenkorah commended the National Executive Committee of the party for the successful verification exercise.
He described this step as innovative and noteworthy, especially in terms of organising verification at the constituency, national, and regional levels.
He specifically mentioned the commendable efforts of the General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, in implementing this electoral innovation.