A Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Prof Ransford Gyampo, has urged the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) leadership to stick to the guidelines drawn up by the party's Presidential Elections Committee for its presidential primary.

The committee has devised guidelines for their flagbearership race with a view to ensuring free, fair and transparent elections. The guidelines essentially seek to prevent intimidation, victimization or retaliation after voting and promote freedom of choice by delegates.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, August 16, 2023, Prof Gyampo commended the NPP for taking those steps to enhance the election process, but said it must implement them effectively to serve the intended purpose.

Some of the key guidelines issued by the party include the absence of uniformed and armed security detail of government officials and Members of Parliament, the prevention of active government officials and MPs from serving as polling agents, no electronic gadgets or phones in the polling booths, no speeches or canvassing for votes at polling centres, among others.

Prof Gyampo advised party executives to ensure the strict implementation of these guidelines, saying "it is in their own interest to do so.”

The special delegates conference to cut down the number of asapirants to five, is slated for August 26, 2023 while the national showdown is set for November 4, 2023.

Prof Gyampo said, "In my view, these are very important portions of the NPP Presidential Race Guidelines, which when truly implemented, would help create the needed level playing field for the contest, prevent intimidation, check victimization and guarantee the delegates’ right to vote according to their conscience, even after they have been bribed.

"While I commend the NPP for these guidelines, I urge them to, for once, live by their own internal rules and guidelines. Let those with positional trust in the party police the rigid implementation of these. For it is in their own interest to do so.

"Let the few ignoramuses who were mistakenly elected as party officials not be allowed to flout these guidelines with impunity. If they do, let the party top echelons who had previously demonstrated lack of courage, man up to deal with them, else there will be no NPP after the flagbearership race.

Below are the guidelines:

1. Active government officials shall not serve as agents for any aspirant.

2. MPs cannot go into the polling area with their armed bodyguards and no weapon would be allowed around the place of voting.
3. No electronic gadget, including phones and pinhole cameras would be allowed around polling booths.
4. Serial numbers shall be made complex so no voter can be linked to any particular number.
5. Macho men will not be allowed near
   voting centres.
6. Delegates will vote as they walk in. They would not be called by their names to go and vote.
7. All ballots, valid, rejected and unused, will be placed in the ballot boxes after counting and all aspirants will affix their seals. The EC shall keep the ballot boxes to prevent tracing and intimidation at a later date.
8. There will be no speeches from Aspirants.