Twenty aspirants have been cleared to contest six executive positions in the opposition New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) upcoming Ashanti Regional executive elections following the first phase of the party’s vetting exercise.
The aspirants successfully passed the vetting process conducted by the party’s Vetting Committee at the Hasta Hotel in Kumasi on Sunday.
The contest is expected to be keenly contested, with four aspirants each cleared to compete for the positions of First Vice Chairman, Youth Organiser and Nasara Coordinator.
Three candidates have been approved to contest for the positions of Second Vice Chairman and Treasurer, while the Communication Officer race will be a straight contest between two aspirants.
The vetting exercise is continued on Monday, when the committee screens the remaining 15 aspirants seeking to contest five key executive positions.
The second phase of the exercise covered the positions of Regional Chairman, Regional Secretary, Deputy Regional Secretary, Regional Organiser and Women’s Organiser.
Chairperson of the Vetting Committee, Rita Talata Asobayire, described the first day of the exercise as successful and expressed confidence that the committee would complete the remaining vetting as scheduled.
Some of the aspirants who spoke to the media after being cleared, including Second Vice Chairman hopeful Hajia Zainab Sallaw and First Vice Chairman aspirants Amofa Jantuah and Akwasi Nti, expressed optimism about their chances and pledged to work towards strengthening the party if elected.
