NPP CHOOSES CHILDREN'S PARK TO DECLARE WINNER

The EC headquarters in Accra is expected to receive all the results by 6.30pm, collate them and ready to declare by 8pm.

In an exclusive interview with The Statesman, the General Secretary of the NPP, Kwadwo "Sir John" Afriyie said that the party will mount a platform at the Afua Sutherland Children's Park at Ridge, Accra Central.

All five candidates will be asked to show up, latest by 8pm, when the results will be declared officially by the EC and the 2012 Presidential Candidate of Ghana's main opposition party outdoored.

Sources at the party headquarters at Asylum Down, Accra, say that, by 3pm of Wednesday, Aug 4, only two candidates had paid the agreed 50,000 Ghana Cedis ($40,000) as each candidate's agreed contribution to providing a common transportation to take delegates to and fro the polling centre.
The two were the two frontrunners, Nana Akufo-Addo and Alan Kyerematen.

Without the party providing transport for all delegates, it is feared that this could push voter turnout down to 60%.

On Wednesday, the party chairman held a press conference at asylum Down. The full text is carried below.

STATEMENT AT PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY ON THE

7TH AUGUST 2010 CONGRESS FOR ELECTING A FLAGBEARER

FOR THE 2012 GENERAL ELECTIONS

4th August 2010

Ladies and gentlemen, on Saturday the 7th of August 2012, the New Patriotic Party, insh Allah, will make history when we go for primaries in all but two of the constituencies of the country to select a flagbearer for the 2012 presidential elections.

The Saturday congress will be historic for at least one reason. For the first time in the political history of Ghana and Africa, party delegates in 230 constituencies across one country will hold separate contests to select a presidential candidate for a general election. The NPP is once again asserting its reputation as ground breakers in Ghana's quest for true democracy.

In August 2009, we made fundamental reforms in the way we select our leaders and our candidates for national elections. The reforms were motivated by the Party's desire to give power to our grassroot members and to deepen internal democracy. The new arrangements have been used to elect our polling station officers, electoral area coordinators, constituency executives, regional executives and national executives. On Saturday, we will elect our presidential candidate. Cumulatively, we are giving practical expression to the power the Party granted its grassroots; and we are proud of that. We are indeed a party of the people and for the people.

We are grateful to our party members across the country, the five candidates, our party officers at all levels, our Members of Parliament, the Party's elders, and all well-wishers for the contribution they have made so far to make the reforms a shining and enviable example for other political parties in Ghana and on the African continent to emulate.

This achievement has not come without some challenges. In recent weeks for instance, the work load involved and difficulty in building and verifying information from the constituencies have created some misunderstanding and even suspicion. We are pleased to announce today that the knotty issues have been resolved, so that we go into Saturday's contest satisfied that we have made the ground as fair and even as we humanly can. We thank all the aspirants for their cooperation and vigilance. We wish each of them well.

Ladies and gentlemen, as has been the tradition with our Party, the August 7 Congress will be conducted by the Electoral Commission. Personnel of the Commission will conduct the election in all polling centres, and will collate and give the final tally of votes obtained by each candidate.

The election will be conducted in all 230 constituencies except Ablekuma North and Ablekuma South Constituencies where certain outstanding issues are yet to be resolved.

Thus, almost 113,000 delegates are expected to vote in the congress. This delegate size is smaller than earlier figures put out. The reduction has resulted from the elimination of delegates who are unable to vote and also, from the merging of positions that overlap within the electoral college defined in Article 12(A)6 of the NPP Constitution, since each delegate can only vote once.

Each constituency shall represent a unit polling area and polling centre. The National Council of Elders, the National Council, Past National Officers and Representatives of our External Branches shall all vote at the National Headquarters in Asylum Down. All other delegates shall vote in the constituency at which their membership is registered.

Voting at all polling centres will begin at 8.00 am and close at 3.00 pm on the voting day. Counting will follow immediately. The Electoral Commission will declare the results at the Esi Sutherland Children's Park opposite the National Theatre at Ridge here in Accra. In the event of an outright win, the winning candidate will then be declared by the National Chairman of the Party.

We have completed security arrangements and are in continuing discussions with our security services to ensure that adequate protection is provided for the entire congress.

To demonstrate our commitment to transparency, the congress is open to both the electronic and print media. All media houses (both local and international) are invited to cover the event in any constituency and at the results declaration centre. Media persons who seek access to any voting premise shall however be required to show proof that they have been assigned by a recognised media house to cover the exercise. We will respectfully require our media friends to comply with all security arrangements for the congress.

Queries relating to the election in any particular constituency should be directed at the chairman or any member of the Constituency Elections Committee of the particular constituency.

To conclude, I will, on behalf of the Party, extend my gratitude to Mr Alan Kyerematen and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for contributing extra resources for the transportation of delegates from their homes to their polling centres. We further call upon all Party members and sympathisers to pray and help make this congress, this immense expansion of our democratic practice a success.

Most importantly, we are grateful to the Almighty God for His help so far in making the reforms and renewal of our party successful. We will continue to seek His guidance and wisdom as we work to complete this job and face the major task of getting back into government to deliver the much needed improvements Ghanaians are looking for.

DEVELOPMENT IN FREEDOM

We thank you for coming.

Jake Obetsebi Lamptey

National Chairman

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