The National Council of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected a petition by nine aspirants requesting that the impending Special Delegates Congress be centralized.
Only Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, out of a total of ten candidates, supported a decentralized Special Delegates Conference.
Boakye Agyarko, Kwabena Agyepong, Kofi Konadu Apraku, Francis Addai-Nimoh, Joe Ghartey, Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and Kennedy Agyepong are the nine other presidential candidates who supported a centralized Congress.
Yesterday, the party leadership and The National Council convened a Special Meeting at the Alisa Hotel in Accra in response to a petition from nine candidates.
After the crucial meeting which ended late in the night, the petition by the aspirants was rejected.
Supporters of both parties swarmed the venue to advance their arguments, some wielding placards and chanting war songs
Proponents of the centralized venue for the Congress had argued that if the elections are conducted at the regional level, the party risks disintegration, and that it makes no sense to decentralize an election with only 900 voters.
The ruling party will hold elections on August 26 to reduce its list of presidential candidates from ten to five.