Voting officially ends at NPP Congress

Voting has officially ended in the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) Delegates� Congress in Tamale and counting of ballots for the various positions is ongoing under heavy security. Security personnel had a hectic time driving people away from the inner parameter to pave way for the sorting and counting of the ballot papers. Some of the delegates that the GNA spoke to after the voting described the exercise as peaceful, transparent, free and fair, and expressed the hope that the NPP would leave Tamale more united with a commitment to win election 2016. Some of the contestants expressed concern about the manner in which sorting and counting had to be done and threatened to sue the Electoral Commission (EC) if there was a problem after counting of the ballot. Mr Paul Afoko, a leading contestant in the chairmanship race threatened to take the EC to court if the sorting and counting did not go well Mr Afoko explained that since the delegates voted according to regions, the sorting and counting of the ballot should have also been done accordingly so that if there was a problem such as an over vote, they would know where it came from. �If we vote according to regions why can�t you count according to regions�. Eight positions are being contested for by 44 members with over 5000 delegates expected to cast their votes in an election being supervised by the Electoral Commission. Seven candidates are contesting for the position of National Youth Organizer, four candidates including the incumbent, Mr Jake Obetsebi Lamptey are contesting for the position of National Chairman, three candidates including the incumbent Madam Otiko Djaba are running for the position of Women�s Organizer, three others including the incumbent Alhaji Moctar Bamba are seeking the position of National Organizer. Also, 10 candidates are seeking the position of Vice Chairman, while five others are contesting for the position of Treasurer. Eight candidates are running for the position of National Nasara Coordinator and four others including the incumbent, Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie are running for the position of General Secretary.