Alhaji Mubarak Muntaka Mohammed, the Member of Parliament for Asawase Constituency in the Ashanti region, has asserted that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is in a strong position to achieve its 2024 electoral goals across the Ashanti region.
However, he emphasized the importance of adopting effective ballot box policing methods at polling stations.
Speaking at a mini-rally organized by the NDC Asokwa Constituency in Kumasi on Saturday, August 31, 2024, the former Minority Chief Whip addressed the widespread public perception that the NDC struggles to protect its votes.
This perception, he noted, has led to a lack of trust among voters, who believe that even if they vote for the NDC, the ruling government might cheat them out of victory.
“This is not a secret. People have been asking you during your campaign activities: ‘We voted for the NDC in 2020, not the NPP, but you couldn’t protect our ballots, so you lost to the ruling government through tactical and violent cheating.’ Isn’t that what they have been telling you?” he questioned.
In response to this critical concern, Muntaka reassured the supporters: “I want to assure you that if we police our ballots on December 7th effectively, we can exceed our flagbearer’s expectations. Therefore, we must all be prepared to sacrifice and protect our votes at every polling station, especially across the Ashanti region. All the health walks, campaign activities, and poster-pasting across the country will mean nothing if we fail to protect our ballots.”
Asawase Ballot Policing Strategy
Muntaka revealed that in the Asawase constituency, located in the heart of Kumasi— a stronghold of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) — the NDC has developed strategic tactics to safeguard their votes, making it difficult for the NPP to interfere.
He explained: “After casting our ballots in the morning, we go home to eat and rest, leaving our polling agents to monitor the ballot boxes. We then return to the polling stations in large numbers at 4 p.m. to observe the counting of the ballots.”
He further advised that, “It doesn’t matter how many votes you get at a polling station; even if it’s just one vote, ensure that vote is protected from the polling station to the collation center. If you don’t follow the results throughout the process, they are likely to be altered during collation.”
Muntaka urged constituency executives not to let the party down from now until December 8, 2024, especially during the voting and counting periods. He also advised the party’s election committee to resist any attempts to conduct collation behind closed doors, stressing that collation should be done openly, as mandated by electoral laws.
“The law requires that the district director of the Electoral Commission, who is the final returning officer, informs all polling agents when the collation is about to start. They cannot begin collation without the agents’ approval. During the process, ensure that the serial numbers on the pink sheets match with what you have by cross-checking for authenticity. This is crucial at all polling stations,” he emphasized.
Muntaka also warned parliamentary candidates not to leave polling stations after knowing their fate in the elections. “This advice goes to our parliamentary candidates: after knowing your results at the polling station, don’t leave. Stay and protect the ballots of our presidential candidate, John Mahama. The moment you leave, they may alter the presidential results in favor of your opponent. Whether you win the parliamentary election or not, wait until the presidential ballots are counted, and the pink sheet is signed before leaving for the collation center.”
He added, “In a presidential election, you need 50% plus one vote to win. So, if you fail to be vigilant and cheat us by just one vote, it could change the outcome and render our efforts in vain. This is my plea to all polling agents and parliamentary candidates of our party.”
Muntaka called on the NDC’s election committee, research officers, constituency executives, election director, IT director, and the entire election committee to recognize that their main task from now until December 7, 2024, is to ensure vigilant protection of the votes.
“The Asawase strategy is that we don’t sleep on December 7th; we only rest after 24 hours. We make sure everything related to the election is addressed and corrected before we sleep. We don’t complain about being tired and postponing collation. In Asawase, we don’t suspend collation. If it takes three days, we stay focused until the job is done,” he declared.
He urged NDC supporters to remain vigilant in the Ashanti region to secure a convincing victory for the party’s presidential candidate, former President John Dramani Mahama.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Isaac Justice Bediako
