A seeming irreparable rift between the Bantama Constituency chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Mr. Fiifi Mensah, the Member of Parliament for the area, Francis Asenso Boakye and other executive members on the other hand, has created a deep crack in the support base of the party in the constituency, which once served as the ‘Florida’ of the NPP.
The two parties have resorted to accusations and counter accusations ahead of the internal elections.
The Constituency Chairman and aggrieved members of the party have raised concerns over alleged manipulation of the electoral album ahead of the party’s internal elections thus creating a huge wedge among the executives.
The chairman, spearheading the protest, has accused Francis Asenso-Boakye of masterminding the manipulation of the constituency’s electoral album in an attempt to unseat him resulting in misunderstanding between the chairman and some delegates.
It is believed that 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 and thus triggered tension at the party’s Bantama office where the factions engaged in heated confrontation amid insults and curses on Monday.
Mr Fiifi Mensah has questioned why he has been denied access to the electoral album, describing the situation as a clear breach of party procedures.
The chairman said the affected delegates are only demanding a peaceful election based on a clean and credible electoral album.
To forestall what he described as further manipulation, Chairman Mensah admitted locking the constituency office after taking custody of all copies of the electoral album until the matter is resolved.
According to him, there were too many irregularities and that he had to secure the albums so that the issues could be resolved peacefully before the process continues.
It took personnel from the Suntreso Police Command to intervene and restore calm after Chairman Fiifi Mensah and the First Vice Chairman, Kingsley Attah alias Wofa Attah were invited to assist with investigations.
Constituency Chairman Fiifi Mensah has called for a peaceful resolution of the matter and that the party’s regional and national executives have been petitioned over the issue.
He disclosed that the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP advised him to petition the appropriate party authorities and is currently awaiting response.
The Bantama MP, Asenso Boakye, has also lodged a formal complaint with the Regional chairman of the party hoping that the Party will provide the necessary support to safeguard the integrity of the validation process.
According to the MP, while the Constituency Elections Committee was working to finalise the Constituency Delegates Album on Monday, the Constituency Chairman, Mr. Fiifi Mensah, accompanied by a group of individuals reportedly arrived at the office.
He said the situation degenerated into a confrontation during which members of the Elections Committee were allegedly assaulted.
The MP also claimed some of the individuals accompanying the Chairman forcibly took away results sheets and other important documents relating to the delegates album exercise.
The Youth organizer, Nana Boakye told The Chronicle that the constituency chairman, an IT expert, is suspect and believed to have tampered with the election portal and the electoral album since he was privy to the password to the portal.
He said the chairman has fallen out with constituency executives hence moves to dent the image of the MP who is not part of the Constituency Election Committee.
According to the youth organiser, disruption of the validation process was part of the chairman’s plans to create chaos.
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