The voting arena around the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon, will be a no-go area for cell phones when 2,300 delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) converge there this weekend to elect a presidential candidate for the party to contest the 2008 elections. Outlining security and other measures agreed upon by stakeholders for a peaceful and trouble-free congress, the Electoral Commission (EC) told the Daily Graphic on Tuesday that once delegates were firmly seated in the arena where voting would take place, they would be restricted from going anywhere else. The measures were adopted by the NPP, together with the Election Committee of the NPP, to guide the conduct of the congress, as well as ensure free, fair and transparent elections. Giving the details to the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra, the Director of Elections at the EC, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, said the measures were also to forestall undue interaction, interference and influence on the delegates. Mr Arhin cautioned that if the dele¬gates carried mobile phones to the voting arena, they would be confiscated because effective security would be mounted for that specific work. He said because of the large number of presidential aspirants, the EC would set up 10 polling booths to facilitate a smooth and quick voting procedure. He said the delegates would vote region by region and constituency by constituency, adding that the delegates, wearing their identification badges, would go through five processing stages prior to voting. “We have already given them the notice of the poll, which shows the positions of the contestants on the ballot papers,” he confirmed, and explained that it was meant to educate delegates on how to vote. Furthermore, Mr Arhin said the EC had reached agreement with party officials that a copy of the register of accredited delegates be made available to all the all the aspirants. He said before the poll takes place, each aspirant would be given five minutes to talk to round off their campaign. He also said EC officials would wear identification tags and go through searches to enhance transparency. “My advice is that the aspirants should behave well, delegates should vote orderly and must not do anything untoward,” he added. He said if anybody was in doubt, the only place to seek clarification must be the EC. “We are ready to provide answers for all queries,” he said. Mr Arhin called on the delegates to remain calm and go about their political activities dutifully during the congress and also reminded them that as soon as the EC took over the elections, its officials would take absolute control of proceedings. He said since the main agenda was the election of the flag bearer, “if the congress starts early, the voting process may take about five hours to complete”. Regarding the Convention People’s Party (CPP) congress, Mr Arhin said it took the EC over 13 hours to com¬plete the elections because it involved the contest for national executives, as well as a flag bearer, and there were 13 positions in all. He said already the NPP aspirants had balloted for the positions on the ballot paper itself and agreed on two agents to represent each of the 17 aspirants. Source: Daily Graphic