The High Court in Tema has declared as void, the compilation of polling station registers for the Tema West Constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The court, presided over by Mr Justice P. D. Ofei, also affirmed that the selection of polling station executives for the constituency was void. It further restrained the NPP and 12 other defendants from using the polling station registers compiled by the Member of Parliament for Tema West and the constituency chainman to conduct any election of the party. The other defendants were the National Chairman of the party, the General Secretary, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman, the Regional Secretary, the MP for Tema West and the Tema West Constituency Chairman. The rest were the First and Second Vice chairpersons, the Secretary, the Organiser, the Youth Organiser and the Women's Organiser, all of the constituency. According to the court, the compilation of the register was in breach of the party's rules and regulations. It made the declaration in a default judgement in a case in which an aggrieved member of the party, Mr Kobina Ampiah Biney, filed a suit against the defendants over the compilation of pol1ing stations registers. None of the defendants entered an appearance before the court. In his statement of claim, Mr Biney said the General Secretary of the party, in a memorandum dated September 11, 2009, had directed polling station executives to compile polling station registers of members for validation by a constituency executive member and a regional representative assigned to the station. According to the statement, the memorandum went on to state that the compilation and validation of the register of each polling station was to be done before nomination forms were sold to prospective candidates who wished to stand for various positions at each polling station before elections were held. It averred that the Greater Accra Regional office of the party appointed one Albert Otchere to co-ordinate the compilation and validation of the list of each polling station party member in the Tema West Constituency before nominations for polling station executives were invited and elections held. It said notwithstanding the clearly stated guidelines for the election of polling station executives, the MP for Tema West, the Constituency Chairman and one Ben Brown went round to select polling station executives, side-stepping the laid down regulations and also without the involvement of the co-ordinator, as directed. According to the statement, the MP, together with the chairman, had, on her own, without the involvement of polling station executives, compiled polling station membership registers for each polling station for the constituency and those registers had not been validated, in clear contravention of the rules and regulations of the party. Source: Daily Graphic