Parties hold final rallies in Bimbilla

POLITICAL parties vying for the Bimbilla seat in tomorrow’s parliamentary bye-election have rounded off their campaigns with rallies throughout the constituency.

The constituency was hijacked by the various political parties who, during the last week, traversed the length and breadth of the constituency convincing the electorate to vote for their respective candidates in the bye-election. The importance that the parties attach to the seat was manifest in the presence of a large number of party functionaries who assembled in the constituency and employed various means to “catch the attention of the electorate”.

The politicians used items such as bicycles, motorbikes and money to lure the electorate to vote for their parties in tomorrow’s crucial elections.

Former President Jerry John Rawlings addressed an NDC rally last week while the Presidential candidate of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) in the last elections, Mr Dan Lartey, arrived with a number of his supporters last Friday.

Indeed all the other parties, the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) had their activists campaigning vigorously in the communities making up the constituency.

Even though the parties played the ethnic card, there was no tension as they seemed to be addressing issues rather than whipping up ethnic sentiments in a constituency where the population is largely made up of Nanumbas and Konkombas. Unlike the NPP and the NDC which have put at the disposal of their activists fleets of vehicles, the PNC can only boast of three vehicles while not much has been seen of the DPP .

The independent candidate, Mr Iddi Abdul-Aziz, also intensified his campaigns even though rumours indicated that he was being sponsored by one of the political parties contesting the bye-election.

Social activities in the area have come to a standstill as all attention is now focused on who wins the bye-election. Communication centres, food sellers and transport owners are making brisk business serving the large number of people who have besieged Bimbilla.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission (EC) has indicated its preparedness to successfully conduct tomorrow's poll. According to the Northern Regional Electoral Officer, Mr Kofi Asomaning, transparent boxes would be used at all the 103 polling stations.
He said to ensure greater transparency, the serial numbers of the boxes and the ballot papers for each of the polling stations would be made available to all the contesting parties 24 hours before the conduct of the elections.

Mr Asomaning said police and military personnel will be deployed at the polling stations to maintain law and order.