NPP to stage full mock run of 3 October national elections in Kumasi on Tuesday

Pinned summary · as of 05:41

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) will rehearse its 3 October national officer elections in full on Tuesday, 29 September, in Kumasi, using the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. Frederick Opare-Ansah, who chairs the party's National Elections Committee, said electoral officials and police will join the exercise so that weaknesses can be found and fixed before the real vote.

What we know

• A complete mock run of the party's national elections is planned for Tuesday, 29 September, at Kumasi's Baba Yara Sports Stadium, as a final step before voting on 3 October.
• The rehearsal will bring in the party's elections committee, the Electoral Commission and the police. Mr Opare-Ansah said its purpose is to expose gaps, giving time to put them right ahead of voting day.
• According to Mr Opare-Ansah, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will give the committee time to repair any shortcomings the Tuesday exercise reveals.
• On Friday the party will hold another session at the stadium with the Electoral Commission and agents acting for the aspirants, to take them through the voting procedures again.
• Mr Opare-Ansah said the preparations are meant to spare everyone any shock on voting day: "We are doing all this to ensure that on Saturday, when we go, nobody has any surprises."
• The Vaultz News and MyJoyOnline both put the number of aspirants in the race at 45.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

• ?
  The Vaultz News quoted Mr Opare-Ansah as saying two more aspirants have withdrawn, leaving 45 from the 47 the party had cleared for nine national executive positions. The same report has him acknowledging that only 11 positions are being contested, so the count of posts is unclear.
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  The Vaultz News reported that Mr Opare-Ansah said the Electoral Commission will run the actual balloting under the committee's supervision, with police responsible for security, and that delegates are expected to vote free of intimidation. No other report carries these arrangements.
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  The Vaultz News reported that the party worked with aspirants during validation to correct errors in the delegates register, that the final register was released to aspirants or their representatives earlier in September, and that an online tool lets delegates check their eligibility. These details have not appeared in other reports.
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  According to The Vaultz News, Mr Opare-Ansah conceded that no system can compel each defeated candidate to take a result without question, but said a transparent process from nomination to balloting helps candidates see how outcomes are reached. This account comes from a single report.

Why it matters for Ghana

The NPP's national officers lead one of Ghana's two biggest parties, so how smoothly the 3 October vote runs matters to its members and to delegates travelling to Kumasi. A dry run involving the Electoral Commission and the police is meant to expose problems in the voting procedures and venue security before delegates arrive. The outcome will also test whether losing aspirants accept the process, a concern the committee chairman himself raised.