The New Patriotic Party (NPP) primaries to elect Parliamentary Candidates for the 2016 elections started across the country on Saturday.
In all, the primaries will be held in 247 out of the 275 Constituencies .
Voting began at most of the polling stations at 0800 hours and is expected to end at 1500 hours in the open view of the public, under the supervision of the Electoral Commission.
According to NPP guidelines for the elections, agents of candidates would be allowed at polling stations to observe proceedings.
Presiding Officers in charge of polling stations would inspect the ballot papers in the presence of the agents, enter the total number, show the ballot boxes to the public to ascertain that they are empty and then place them in the open for voting.
Every voter in the queue at the polling stations at the close of polls at 1500 hours would be allowed to vote. Counting of ballots cast would start immediately after the last voter has cast his or her vote.
At the Ayawaso West Wuagon Constituency the two contestants incumbent Mr Emmanuel Kyeremateng Agyarko and Ms Efia Acheampong Appiah are all confident of winning the polls.
In separate interviews with the Ghana News Ageny (GNA), both Candidates are optimistic that their track record within the party and Constituency will be the determining factor.
In all, 627 delegates are expected to cast votes in the Ayawaso West Wuagon Constituency.
Meanwhile, a statement to the GNA in Accra signed by Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, the NPP General Secretary, said it had suspended the polls in 28 Constituencies because of certain outstanding issues.
According to the General Secretary, the number of constituencies in which polls had been suspended originally stood at 30 but that as at yesterday, Friday, two of the affected constituencies had been cleared, thereby allowing them to participate in Saturday’s exercise.
The statement said in line with article 6 (14) of the NPP Constitution, the Electoral College for the June 13 Parliamentary Primaries includes Members of the Constituency Executive Committee, all Electoral Area Coordinators and the five executives at each Polling Station.
The others are, any Founding Member from the Constituency who is a signatory to the registration document of the Party at the Electoral Commission, five members of the Council of Elders and five Patrons from the Constituency.
The statement reminded the party members that only the Registers used for the last October 18, 2014 Presidential Primaries would be used for the Saturday June 13 primaries.
The Statement explained: ?At Constituencies where at the close of nomination only one candidate filed, the Candidate is deemed to have been duly elected unopposed.?
?The New Patriotic Party calls on all delegates, aspirants and members to conduct themselves in the spirit of party unity at the various polling centres,? the statement said, and extended the party?s best wishes to all the aspirants.
GNA
