The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the New Patriotic Party has expanded the scope of its polling station election committees as part of preparations for upcoming internal elections.
Under the new directive, each committee will now supervise 25 polling stations, up from the earlier 10, in a move aimed at streamlining the process and reducing the number of committees.
Speaking to the media after an emergency NEC meeting at the party’s headquarters, the party’s Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, described the change as a minor adjustment intended to improve efficiency.
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“It was an emergency meeting, and largely discussions focused on the membership registration and preparation for polling station elections,” he said.
Mr Ahiagbah explained that the revision followed feedback on the initial guidelines.
“Initially, we indicated that a polling station election committee would supervise 10 polling stations, but we have now increased that number to 25 so that we can reduce the number of election committees,” he stated.
He emphasised that the changes do not represent a major policy shift.
“These are not major changes but minor adjustments specifically to the polling station election committees. We are trying to reduce the number of committees by increasing the number of polling stations they supervise,” he added.
The NEC also reaffirmed its earlier decision to disqualify members who registered online but failed to validate their details at polling stations from participating in the elections.
“NEC maintained its directive that if you registered online and were unable to verify your details as required, you cannot vote or contest,” Mr Ahiagbah stated.
When asked whether affected members would be given another opportunity to complete the validation process, he responded negatively, stressing that timelines had already expired.
“These timelines are a big deal at this point, so there is no opportunity,” he said.
However, he indicated that discussions are ongoing on how to reconcile the online and physical registers to ensure inclusivity.
“What conversation is ongoing is how we ensure that people who registered online can be vouched for at the polling station,” he noted, adding that a register exhibition exercise could be conducted at the polling station level.
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