Conduct Of Constituency Executives Elections And Related Matters

CONDUCT OF CONSTITUENCY EXECUTIVES ELECTIONS AND RELATED MATTERS

With reference to Article 7(29)(e) and (30) of the NPP Constitution which provides, among other things, that, the Party’s Constituency Annual Delegates Conference shall meet to elect Constituency Officers, as well as Article 18 on Guidelines for the operations of the Party at all levels, the Party’s National Executive Committee, has, at its meeting on April 12, 2022, fashioned out the following Rules and Regulations for the conduct of the Party’s Constituency Annual Delegates Conference, to elect Constituency Executives:

The Constituency Elections shall be conducted at a Constituency Annual Delegates Conference to be held from Thursday 28th April to Monday 2nd May, 2022, across the country. Pursuant to Section17(2) of the Political Parties Law, Act 574, which provides that the election of National, Regional and Constituency Officers of every political party shall be conducted under the supervision of the Electoral Commission, the constituency elections shall be supervised by the Electoral Commission of Ghana.

The Party will only accept elections conducted under the supervision of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.

All the processes leading to the elections and other related activities shall be organized and superintended over by a Constituency Elections Committee (CEC), to be constituted as follows:

One National Representative appointed by the Steering Committee, who shall be the Chair One Regional Representative appointed by the Regional Executive Committee, who shall be the Secretary (Preferably, the Representative should fall within these categories – Regional Officer, Minister/Deputy, Government Appointee, MPs or Former MPs, MMDCE, Former Government Appointee) Chairman of the Constituency Council of Elders Chairman of the Constituency Council of Patrons A respected elderly woman appointed by the Constituency The Constituency Research and Elections Officer

The Constituency IT Officer The Constituency Elections Committee shall determine the Venue for the conduct of the elections.

Per Article 7 (27), delegates to the Constituency Annual Delegates Conference shall include: Members of the Constituency Executive CommitteeAll Electoral Area CoordinatorsAll five (5) Polling Station Executives from all Polling Stations in the ConstituencyFive (5) members of the Constituency Council of EldersFive (5) members of the Constituency Council of Patrons, andAny Founding Member from the Constituency. The presence of at least one-third (1/3) of the delegates of the Constituency shall be necessary to constitute a quorum of the Conference.

The Constituency Executives Elections shall be conducted in accordance with the following schedules:

Opening and Closing of Nominations 19th – 20th April, 2022.

Vetting of Aspirants 21st – 22nd April, 2022

Hearing of Appeals 23rd – 24th April, 2022

Printing of Electoral Materials 25th – 27th April, 2022

Elections 28th April – 2nd May, 2022

Appeals from disgruntled Aspirants shall be received and handled by a Constituency Appeals Committee constituted as follows:

Chairman of the Regional Council of Elders (Chairman)
Chairman of the Regional Council of PatronsAn Elderly Woman appointed by the Regional Executive Committee.

Nomination Forms can be acquired from the Constituency Elections Committee for free.

However, upon submission of completed Nomination Forms to the Elections Committee, an Applicant shall be required to pay to the Committee, a Filing Fee of GHc 500 for the Chairperson position; and GHc 200 for all other positions.

Nomination Forms can also be downloaded from the Party’s website, (newpatrioticparty.org) and all social media accounts of the Party, for free.

However, upon submission of completed Nomination Forms to the elections committee, an Applicant shall pay a Filing Fee of GHc 500 for the Chairperson position; and GHc 200 for all other positions.

A prospective Aspirant shall be a Registered Voter and a Member of the Party in the Constituency he/she seeks to contest.

A prospective Aspirant shall be an active and known Member of the Party in good standing for at least two years in the Constituency he/she seeks to contest.

No member of the Constituency Elections Committee shall be eligible to contest in the Constituency Executives Elections.

Electoral Area Coordinators and Polling Station Executives who are desirous of contesting in the Constituency Elections shall first resign their positions.For identification purposes, delegates/voters shall use their Party Membership Identity (ID) Card, but where same is unavailable, National Voters ID will be admitted for the purpose of voting.

The Constituency Album shall be used as the register for the conduct of the electionsAn Aspirant shall be nominated by one (1) registered member and seconded by three (3) Registered Members of the Party, all of whom shall be in good standing at the particular Constituency he/she is contesting.

Three (3) Passport sized photographs shall accompany each Application Form. Positions to be contested for include:

The Constituency Chairperson

The 1st Constituency Vice Chairperson
The 2nd Constituency Vice Chairperson
The Constituency Secretary
The Constituency Assistant Secretary
The Constituency Treasurer
The Constituency Organiser
The Constituency Women Organiser
The Constituency Youth Organiser, and
The Constituency Nasara Coordinator.

Any Member of the Party or Aspirant who feels aggrieved at any point in the process
SHALL exhaust ALL available internal resolution mechanisms in accordance with Article 4 of the Party Constitution and the decision of the National Executive on the matter shall be final and binding.

EXTERNAL BRANCH ELECTIONS

The Party is currently holding elections in all our External Branches. Chapter Elections will go on throughout the month of April, whereas Branch Elections shall be held in May.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The Party acknowledges that the conduct of the internal elections thus far has not been without challenges.

Some members, in their anxiety and haste to serve as officers have sometimes taken decisions and behaved in ways inimical to the Party in their local area.

Some elections have been held up amidst misunderstanding. A few have chosen the path of going to court.

The Party leadership wants to assure everybody, especially the members involved, that we are sensitive to their concerns and will do all that is necessary to resolve outstanding differences.

We are employing different instruments, including responding to court processes but more significantly, relying heavily on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR).

To that effect, the Party inaugurated an ADR Committee on the 25th of March, 2022, which is chaired by Hon. Cecelia Abena Dapaah, Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources.

The Committee has been busy and is making good headway. So, we can assure the public and all our members that valid concerns are being reviewed and dealt with.

However, the Party cautions that matters of a criminal nature, especially actions deliberately and maliciously aimed at destroying Party property and thereby damaging the reputation of the Party, will not be condoned.

In all such cases, where proven, Party disciplinary measures as well as the law, will be applied without fear or favour.

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CONSTITUENCY ELECTIONS GUIDELINES

JOHN BOADU

GENERAL SECRETARY