The campaign team of New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential aspirant Kennedy Agyapong has provided clarity on the concerns he voiced during the signing of the party’s peace pact ahead of the January 31 presidential primaries.
The peace pact, endorsed by all five candidates, pledges commitment to party unity, respect for the electoral process and its results, and prevention of actions by supporters that could disrupt internal harmony.
At the signing event, Mr. Agyapong was seen engaging with party officials over apparent issues, sparking curiosity about his reservations.
In an appearance on The Cituation Room on Channel One TV, Kwasi Kwarteng, spokesperson for Mr. Agyapong, revealed that the objection stemmed from the absence of a crucial clause in the document, which had been previously agreed upon by the aspirants.
He explained that the omitted provision specified that voting centres would also function as collation centres for result declarations. Additionally, copies of the pact were meant to be distributed to aspirants in advance for review, but this step was not followed.
“Initially, the expectation was that the organisers would have served the parties with the documents of the peace pact so that they would have read earlier and know the details and content of it before they came for the event and undertake the ceremony. Unfortunately, we did not get the documents as earlier agreed amongst the parties. So Ken had the first-hand opportunity to go through the document at the venue,” Mr. Kwarteng said.
He noted that earlier discussions involving the aspirants, the Presidential Election Committee, and the Electoral Commission had reached an agreement on using voting centres as collation points, with declarations made on-site. It was also decided that any centre with compromised security would be excluded from counting, and this was intended to be included in the pact.
“Before that, the parties had earlier agreed with the Presidential Election Committee and the Electoral Commission that where the voting centres would also be used as the collation centres, and the declarations would also be made there. And so, in the event that there is any mishap or security is compromised, those centres may not be counted. That was what was agreed at the aspirant level, together with the Electoral Commission and the Presidential Election Committee,” he added.
Mr. Kwarteng further stated that after Mr. Agyapong highlighted the issue, Joseph Osei Owusu, Chairman of the Presidential Election Committee, admitted it was an oversight and verbally assured that the clause would be added later.
“Lo and behold, when he led that charge, the chairman of the Presidential Election Committee admitted that it was an omission and, of course, made a verbal assurance that subsequently they will insert it,” he said.