Supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Okaikoi North Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, on Monday, February 3, 2014 stormed the National Headquarters of the party in Asylum Down and evoked the powerful “Antoa Nyama” deity on the Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikoi Central Constituency, accusing him of meddling in the election of Constituency Officers for the party.
The supporters, went to the party office with a bottle of Schnapp, a two-page petition and placards bearing the inscription “Patrick Boamah must stay away from Okaikoi North”, “Patrick Yaw Boamah you are a devil to the NPP”, pouring libation and evoking the powerful Ashanti deity on the young MP and his supporters in the Constituency.
The NPP supporters, could not fathom how the Regional Executives, would organize a Constituency elections without the knowledge of the sitting MP for Okaikoi North Constituency, Elizabeth Sackey.
According to the supporters, who stormed the office clad in red arm bands, Mr. Boamah in the recent Regional Elections, doled out a whopping One Hundred And Fifty Thousand Ghana Cedis (¢150,000) to support the re-election bid of the NPP Regional Chairman, Ishmael Ashitey.
The money, they said, was a bribe given to Mr. Ashitey, who plans ostracizing party supporters, who he (Boamah) perceive to be for Nana Akufo-Addo, NPP’s twice defeated presidential candidate.
The enraged party supporters told The Herald that Mr. Boamah, with the connivance of the Regional Chairman succeeded in getting people believed to be Alan Kwadwo Kyeremateng’s supporters elected as Constituency Executives.
Mr. Kyeremanteng, an ex-Minister of Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiative (PSI) in the John Agyekum Kufuor Administration, is challenging Nana Addo in the race to lead the party for the 2016 Presidential Elections.
With the tacit support of the Regional Chairman, the MP, last week Sunday, February 2, 2014 organized a Constituency election, which saw the election of people perceived to be supporters of Alan Kyeremanteng.
Emmanuel Bonsu and Andrews Kingsford Arthur, Constituency Chairman and First Vice-Chairmanship respectively, who were seeking re-election, presented a two-page petition to the NPP National Officers, calling for the annulment of Sunday’s elections.
The petition dated February 2, 2014 headlined, “Non Compliance of Electoral Rules in the Conduct of Constituency Election” talked “…about some grievous infractions that characterized the just ended Constituency elections which took place on Sunday February 2, 2014”.
According to them, the electoral infractions did not make them lose interest in process but also compelled them to boycott the elections with a strong challenge.
The petition mentioned the failure to compile an album by the regional chairman, non-exhibition of electoral album for party people, insertion of names not known by the rank and file of the party.
They also cited the non-supply of album to the candidates as an issue that fraught Sunday’s Constituency elections.
According to the petition, the party rules for election of party officers 13-14, enjoins the Constituency Executive Committee to conduct polling station elections in preparation of the album for the Constituency elections.
However, the petition stated that this provision in the party’s Constituency, was extensively breached by the Regional chairman, Mr. Ashitey.
“The compilations of the photo album by the Regional Executives, have suffered serious omissions, particularly in the Anumle Electoral area. About thirty names omitted from the album. Meanwhile, this people are well trusted people in the party who were selected and went through the process as others”.
“We are, therefore, pleading to the National Executive Council (NEC) to consider our pleading to prevent us from taking further action, which will not help our party”, the petitioners warned.
Later in an interview, one of the petitioners, Andrews Kingsford Arthur, pleaded with the National Executives to nullify the elections that was held on Sunday and supervised by officers of the Okaikoi Central Constituency.
A text message was sent to the MP, Mr. Boamah to react to the bribery allegations and other claims leveled against him, but did not yield his response as of time of going to press.
When The Herald called Elizabeth Sackey, to seek more clarification on the matter, she did not pick the calls that were placed to her mobile phone. She did not respond to a text message that was sent to her either.