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THE EASTERN Regional Secretariat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has revealed that it has deleted 6,190 names suspected to be names of NPP members from their register.

The Regional Secretary, Mark Oliver Kevor, on Thursday when addressing a press confab noted that the party is therefore expecting about 182,614 members to go to the polls on Saturday.

It would be recalled that the Regional Chairman, Bismark Tawiah Boateng, recently alleged that members of the opposition New Patriotic Party had infiltrated the NDC by registering to vote in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential primaries of the party.

According to him, his outfit gathered that sympathisers of the NPP registered during the NDC biometric registration exercise with the agenda to vote against President John Mahama in the upcoming primaries.

Mr Tawiah Boateng had stated that the NDC would not hesitate to arrest persons who would vote against President John Mahama in the polls.

“Anybody who goes against the party’s directive by opposing the candidature of the president will be dealt with,” he had threatened.

Meanwhile, some of the party members in the constituencies where the exhibitions were done have complained that their names have been deleted from the register.

However, Kevor stated that the party, after the exhibitions, deleted the names of fake NDC members from the register to pave way for the NDC members to give a 100% endorsement to the president’s candidature in Saturday’s polls.

Mr Oliver Kevor said nine constituencies out of the 33 in the region would participate in only the presidential primary since the parliamentary aspirants in those constituencies are going unopposed and so will be duly declared as candidates.

“The unopposed constituencies are Abirem where only the Deputy Regional Minister, Mavis Ama Frimpong is contesting, Achiase, Atiwa East, Atiwa West, Fanteakwa North and South, New Juaben North and Okere. However, the presidential and parliamentary elections will take place in the remaining 25 constituencies in not less than 776 voting centres across the region,” he said, adding, “We have 78 aspirants including the seven MPs in the 33 constituencies in the region. We wish to emphasise that the elections are being conducted fully by the Electoral Commission of Ghana and accredited officials and observers will be available to monitor the exercise.”

Flash Points

Snippets of information available to DAILY GUIDE indicate that Akwatia, Lower Manya Krobo, Upper Manya Krobo, Lower West Akim, Nkawkaw, Afram Plains North, Asuogyaman, Suhum, Abuakwa South and Akropong constituencies are potential trouble spots in Saturday’s primaries. However, the regional secretary has assured that his outfit has given the names of such areas to the regional police command to ensure that law and order is maintained.

The NDC has warned all party supporters and the aspirants to abide by the rules and guidelines for the conduct of the elections, adding that all constituency executives and the election directorates should observe the necessary codes of conduct to make sure the elections are free and fair and without violence.