The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced its decision that it will not supervise the National Democratic Congress’ upcoming primaries, slated for May 13, until any outstanding legal disputes are resolved.
The EC asserted that proceeding with the primaries in spite of pending legal disputes would be a breach of the judiciary’s authority and constitute contempt of court.
The EC disclosed this decision during a meeting with representatives of all three NDC flagbearer candidates on May 10.
“However, yesterday we were served with an Application for Interlocutory Injunction seeking to restrain the Commission from supervising the conduct of the Presidential and Parliamentary Primaries due to the alleged anomalies with the register.
Gentlemen, in order that we are not cited for contempt, the Commission has taken the decision not to supervise the conduct of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections until after the determination of the case by the court,” the Chairperson of the Commission, Madam Jean Mensa said.
Background
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, a flagbearer hopeful for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has taken legal action against the party’s upcoming presidential and parliamentary primaries.
The lawsuit, which has been made public, seeks an interlocutory injunction to prevent the NDC and the Electoral Commission from holding the elections until a comprehensive photo album register is produced.
The former Finance Minister also wants the party to deliver the complete register to him at least five weeks ahead of the election.
The party heads to the polls on Saturday, May 13, to elect a flagbearer and Members of Parliament ahead of the 2024 elections.
According to the plaintiff, data from only 220 out of the 275 constituencies have been verified. An exceptional list of 74,799 he adds has been created which cannot also be verified because of scanty information.
For no credible reason, 3,910 eligible voters at the 220 constituencies have been disenfranchised”, Dr. Duffuor’s writ read in parts.
He further makes a point, the photo album put out by the electoral directorate of the NDC with the knowledge, consent and tacit approval of the general secretary of the party would compromise the integrity of the election to his detriment.
“The Plaintiff maintains that the reluctance to extend the time for the internal elections and provide a complete and credible photo album register ahead of time to the presidential aspirants for verification smacks of a plan to create an undue advantage for manipulation of the presidential primaries”, the motion added.
Kwabena Duffuor had complained of some discrepancies in the party’s voter register and wants the National Executive of the party to postpone the upcoming presidential and parliamentary primaries.
In an earlier letter to the General Secretary of the NDC, Dr Duffuor’s campaign team said the call is based on the incomplete and inaccurate delegates register expected to be used for the elections.
But the party says it will not postpone its primaries on Saturday despite calls from Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, one of the flagbearer aspirants.
Its Deputy General Secretary, Mustapha Gbande said the credibility of the May 13th primaries is not questionable as the campaign team of the former Finance Minister seeks to suggest.
