Correspondence from Eastern Region

Former Energy Minister and current Chairman of the ER Reconciliation Committee of NPP, Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko has advised candidates who will lose in today's primaries to discard any mindset of going independent.

He said the thought of going independent after losing a contest is a wrong thing to do.

"It means that you have an unbridled and an inordinate ambition," he said.

Speaking to Ghanaweb during his visit to some voting centres in the New Juaben South Constituency, Mr. Agyarko said, for a candidate to go independent means he or she did not accept the rules.

"If you did not accept the rules, it means that you should not have contested to begin with.

"The rules are laid out and if you felt the rules were not fair then you should not have contested. But to go through the contest, accepting the rules and then turn round and say I'm going independent is much of certain insensitivity," he stressed.

Mr. Agyarko urged losing candidates to dust off their shoes and get back to serve the party since there are so many ways of serving the party in diverse capacities.

"So, I will urge all candidates who lose in this contest to avoid the thoughts of going independent, stay within the fold of the party, work hard, and then wait for another time for another contest," emphasised.

Voting has ended in almost all the centres in the New Juaben South as electoral officers are only waiting till 1 pm before counting begins.

The primaries have been calm generally with all the centres observing strictly the COVID-19 prevention protocols.

Veronica buckets filled with water with availability of soap and sanitizers are strategically placed and all voters were directed to wash their hands before being allowed to cast their votes. After casting their votes, they are giving sanitizers to sanitize their hands before leaving the voting centre.