New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary aspirant for Yendi, Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama Zakariah, has announced her intention to petition the National Executive Council of the party regarding the confusion that marred the parliamentary contest in the area on Saturday, January 27, 2024.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), in an interview on Sankara Radio in Yendi, expressed her dismay, stating that she was cheated openly.
Hajia Abibata said when she confronted Farouk Aliu Mahama, the Member of Parliament for the constituency, he and his team reportedly disrupted the counting process.
She recounted that one of the Electoral Commission officials supervising the poll was discovered with her ballots stuffed in his jacket in an attempt to destroy and conceal them, preventing them from being counted.
“When they were going to sort, ideally, there should have been transparency, but people were asked to move away, and the area was closed off, and we were blocked, and I thought that it was just going to be only the EC officials and the party agents. But what I saw was that there were regional reps who were part of the sorting process because they were standing there and the EC official started to count and we asked for who and that tells you the extent to which the process wasn’t transparent because ideally, when you are sorting, you should let us know the person you are sorting for but that didn’t happen, and all we heard was the counting.”
“As the counting was underway, somebody alerted my brother that one of the EC officials was destroying my ballots. My brother informed one of the policemen present, but he took no action. So, he approached the official directly to inquire about his actions, and the official denied it. He then removed his jacket, revealing ballots and ink, which caused confusion.”
“I will have to submit a petition because according to our party constitution, you must exhaust the channels within the party before any action can be taken. Once I submit the petition, I expect the party to investigate the matter and resolve it accordingly because in an election, counting must be conducted, and a winner declared, and none of that happened in this case.”
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