Voting in the ongoing New Patriotic Party (NPP) regional elections in the Ashanti Region has been put on hold.
This follows disagreements over the voter register for delegates from the party’s students’ wing—the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON).
Some TESCON members raised concerns over the omission of names and the inclusion of persons who are either not members of TESCON or from non-accredited TESCON institutions on the album.
The development forced a group of well-built men to disallow some persons from voting over suspicions they were not TESCON members.
Although about 95 percent of the delegates have cast their ballot, the process came to a standstill after the majority of the aspirants opposed the voting by the TESCON members.
The Chairman of the Ashanti Regional Election Committee earlier announced that it has resolved to take out some institutions from the list and the rest be allowed to vote.
This generated heated exchanges between some aspirants and the Ashanti Regional Election Committee Chairman at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
Member of Parliament for Bantama, Francis Asenso-Boakye asked the committee to suspend the TESCON list to allow for counting since over 95 percent of the delegates have gone through the process.
But the incumbent regional chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly called Chairman Wontumi also insists the TESCON members must be allowed to vote.
Meanwhile, in a memo sighted by Citi News, the National Appeals Committee has asked the Regional Elections Committee to “immediately convene a meeting with the leadership of the aggrieved students to undertake an audit of the Regional TESCON album with the view to reaching a compromise in the interest of the party.
In the heat of the argument, a known serial caller of the NPP in the Ashanti Region, Kwabena Nyame brought in a bottle of Schnapp and rained curses on persons purporting to be members of TESCON wanting to take part in the voting.
Earlier, the Election Committee held a series of meeting with stakeholders to address outstanding concerns regarding the electoral album to be used for the elections.
Similarly in Accra, there was an exchange of blows at the Trade fair Centre where the NPP in the Greater Accra Regional is holding elections to elect executive officers.
The polls which had been peaceful was marred after delegates from the TESCON bloc were called to cast their ballot.
According to Citi News sources supporters of one of the candidates for the youth organiser position wanted to stop some of the TESCON representatives from casting their ballot.
The development ensued in a scuffle but police and party officials are working to bring the situation under control.
