Wontumi Rebels Against NPP

The Ashanti Regional chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako, has reacted angrily to a directive by the National Elections Committee of the party, ordering a re-run of some six constituency elections across the country. Chairman Wontumi, as he is popularly known, has openly declared that he would not comply with the order, citing lack of proper consultation on the part of the Committee with the grassroots. �We will not comply with the order by the Elections Committee, it will never happen in this region,� an angry Charmain Wontumi told journalists. The National Elections Committee reached the decision on Wednesday, to order a re-run of elections in some constituencies in the country, with four coming from the Ashanti Region. The six affected constituencies include Juaben, Manhyia North, Kumawu and Ejisu � all in the Ashanti Region, with Okaikoi North, Okaikoi South and Krowor Constituencies, also in the Greater Accra. In a communique issued by the Committee, it noted: �the National Elections Committee (NEC), having heard the petitioners and respondents� case, has come to the conclusion that the laid down procedures and rules were not followed, and as a result, people were deliberately disenfranchised in the elections, purported to have taken place. Accordingly, the National Elections Committee (NEC) has directed that the Polling Stations, Electoral Area Coordinators and Constituency elections at the above-named Constituencies must be re-run. But the Ashanti Regional chairman of the party has called the Committee�s bluff, saying he will not comply with the order, because the right procedure was not followed.