Tension is escalating within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Bantama Constituency of the Ashanti Region as a section of delegates, including the Constituency Chairman, have raised concerns over alleged manipulation of the polling station album ahead of the party’s internal elections.
The aggrieved members claim that the Member of Parliament for Bantama, Francis Asenso-Boakye, together with the First Vice Chairman and the Constituency Youth Organiser, have allegedly removed the names of some delegates from the album without justification.
Leading the affected delegates, Constituency Chairman Fiifi Mensah called for a peaceful resolution of the matter and disclosed that steps are being taken to petition the party’s regional and national executives over the issue.
In a dramatic development on Monday, June 22, Mr Mensah reportedly took custody of the polling station album and locked up his office to prevent other constituency executives from accessing it.
The incident prompted the intervention of officers from the Suntreso District Police Command, who were deployed to the party office to restore calm and maintain order.
“Bantama was peaceful, everything was going on, until we realised that the MP and a group of people intended to completely manipulate the polling station album to suit the choices of people who would be executives.
“There is a process the party goes through, and we all want to go through the process. So if we run the thing peacefully, whoever gets elected is elected and becomes an executive. We go for the election, whoever wins, wins. Fair, cool.
“Bantama is for all of us; it’s not for anybody. Can you imagine an album that a constituency chairman, who is supposed to be leading the process, has been taken out of the process? Because the MP has built his own group, planning the whole show, and now they are taking people out?
“We must do a fair and clean album. For peace to prevail in Bantama, we will go for a peaceful election,” he said.
