NDC postpones election of flag bearer after trial

Thursday, January 17, 2019 Policy

Source: citinewsroom.com

2019-01-17

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) postponed its presidential primary to January 26, 2019.

The decision according to the party became necessary because of the trial contesting the modalities of the elections.

The party stated that, although they agreed with the two complainants to settle the case amicably, the postponement had given them sufficient time to consider a new date because a number of activities on their calendar, including verification, had not yet been conducted.

In an interview with Citi News, Peter Boamah Otokunor, deputy secretary general of the NDC, said that a new date would be announced after the party's leadership meeting on Thursday.

"We do have an election week if we have to lift the hurdle in court tomorrow. As you may know, we introduced the issue of internal regulations. We have agreed to certain conditions and we must report to court tomorrow. So after that, party leaders will sit down and consider postponing a new date. "

He added that if the party held elections on January 26, 2019, it would mean that they only have a week left to prepare, which is too short for such activities.

"As you may know, we have not been able to conduct an audit and other activities of the electoral calendar, so we hope that after the lifting of the legal hurdle tomorrow, we will be able to sit down and consider a new date that will suit other electoral activities, "he added.

The injunction procedure at the NDC presidential primaries will be settled amicably

The NDC and its two members who obtained an injunction against the upcoming presidential elections of the party decided to settle the case amicably.

The court presided over by Judge Georgina Mensah Datsa had previously ordered both parties to file their settlement terms within three days.

As a result of the lawsuit, all processes related to the primary school, including the selection of presidential candidates, had been interrupted.

The two party members, Abdallah Issah, the branch's communications officer, and James Kabu Nartey-Oman, branch secretary of NDC's Bortianor / Ngleshie Amanfro district, appealed to the courts to challenge the rules and guidelines set out for the presidential primaries.

In their statement, both parties had problems with filing fees prior to their review.

They were also unhappy with the fact that a special rule stating that one had to be a party member for ten years before arguing over the presidential primaries had been broken.

NDC lawyers had stated that most of the issues raised had been handled internally.

They noted that the initial filing fee of 400 000 GH ¢ had now been reduced to 300 000 GH ¢.

In the writ, which was issued on December 18, 2018, the plaintiffs wanted a statement that the published guidelines regarding the conduct of the NDC's primary school in 2019 were null and void.

The applicants also sought to declare that the introduction of specific eligibility criteria as conditions for presidential candidates was contrary to the letter and spirit of the NDC Constitution.

They also wanted the court to declare that the procedure adopted by the CND via the National Executive Committee (NEC) for the preparation and presentation of the guidelines, as well as the amendments without prior consultation of the National Council of Wise Persons, was illegal.

They also requested a new order directing the NDC to organize its 2019 presidential election in a free, fair, transparent and inclusive manner, in accordance with the NDC constitution.