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Politics of Monday, 6 December 2004

Source: GNA

EC ready for polls in the Eastern Region

Koforidua, Dec. 6, GNA - The Eastern Regional Election Taskforce has completed arrangements towards the successful holding of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections on Tuesday, December 7. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Koforidua on Monday, the Eastern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mr Samuel Ntow said all the necessary election materials had been dispatched to the 17 district capitals for distribution to the 2,067 polling stations in the Region.

He said the EC had trained five election officials, mainly from the localities, to man the polling stations.

Mr Ntow said public departments and institutions in Koforidua had released about 40 vehicles to convey security personnel and electoral materials to polling stations.

He said a Ghana Air Force helicopter had been deployed to convey electoral materials and officials to and back from the islands on the Volta Lake in the Afram Plains as well as motorcycles and engine boats to facilitate the elections there.

He said 116 parliamentary candidates including 10 women would be contesting for 28 seats in the Region.

The Eastern Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vincent Dzakpata, said a total of 2,734 security personnel had been mobilized from the Police, Ghana National Fire Service, Prison Service, Immigration Service, Custom, Excise and Preventive Services for the exercise adding that 124 of them would be on standby to respond to any eventuality.

He said the members of the Taskforce had been divided into five teams to supervise the electoral process in each of the five Police Divisional areas in the Region.

In a related development, the Birim South District Electoral Officer, Mr Bruce Ayisi told the GNA that the EC had completed arrangements for the elections in both the Akim Oda and Akim Swedru Constituencies and that all materials required for the polls were ready for dispatch to the various polling centres.

He said the Akim Oda Constituency had 109 polling stations while the Akim Swedru Constituency had 74 polling stations.

Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, would be contesting the seat on the NPP ticket with Mr Akwasi Amaniampong of the NDC, Mr Yahuza Salifu Adamu of the PNC and Mr Abora Mensah of the CPP.

At the Akim Swedru Constituency, the incumbent NPP MP, Mr Felix Owusu Agyepong would be contesting with Nana Appiah of the PNC, Baafour Mensah Tekyi of the NDC, Mr Edmund Tetteh Okrah of the CPP and Ms Monica Appiah an Independent candidate.

Mr Ayisi advised the electorate to turn up early to cast their vote and to be patient while waiting their turn in the queue to avoid confusion.

He advised all electoral officers to discharge their duties impartially to ensure free and fair polls.