NDC Primaries: Asiedu Nketiah brushes off Duffuor’s ‘faulty voter register’ claim
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said that its presidential and parliamentary primaries will go ahead as planned on Saturday, May 13, 2023, despite a legal challenge by one of the flagbearer hopefuls, Dr Kwabena Duffuor.
According to Aseidu Nketiah, the party has followed proper procedures and adhered to the constitution throughout the electoral process.
Speaking in an interview with Okay FM, on May 9, 2023, Asiedu Nketiah stated, “Whatever we do, there are measures that we follow, and also the elections are also in accordance with the constitution unless the party decides otherwise for its internal elections. And so far, in all the procedures and measures that we have implemented, we haven’t faulted in any way or gone against any law.”
Responding to complaints about access to the delegate list as earlier reported by one of the flagbearer hopefuls, Dr Kwabena Duffour, he stated that after the vetting process, every candidate was provided with a delegate list, dismissing any claims suggesting that individuals were denied access.
“I heard of people complaining about not getting access to the delegate list, but after the vetting, we gave everyone a delegate list, so all of them have a delegate list… so if anybody claims not to have a delegate list, that is not true,” he said.
He further dismissed any suggestions of postponing the elections due to grievances related to the photo album of the delegates, stating, “For this NDC presidential and parliamentary primaries, people have raised issues about it, and I needed to respond to them. But first of all, I want to assure all Ghanaians and NDC members that the elections will be held on Saturday, May 13, 2023. As I speak there is nothing that restricts the elections so all candidates should prepare for the elections.
“…Nobody can tell us that the photo album that we are doing, which is not even part of the guidelines, he hasn’t received them so because of it we should postpone the elections. You can say such things, but because there is no basis to it, we will also just listen,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kwabena Duffour, has filed an interlocutory injunction against the primaries slated for Saturday, May 13, 2023.
The lawsuit specifically named as respondents the General Secretary of the NDC, the Director of the Elections Directorate, along with fellow flagbearer hopefuls John Dramani Mahama and another contender, Kojo Bonsu.
According to the writ, the defendants have been commanded to enter their appearance within eight days of being served with the legal documents.
The writ added that failure to comply with the order may result in a judgment being passed in their absence without further notice.
Dr. Duffour alleged certain irregularities in the party’s voter register and concerns regarding the integrity of the upcoming primaries, prompting him to seek legal intervention.