10.4 C
London
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

NDC Settles Case Out Of Court

Johnson Asiedu Nketia

The
opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been cowed into choosing a
new date for its intended internal elections to choose a flagbearer for the
party ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The decision
forms part of an out of court settlement agreed upon by the party and two
members who secured an injunction against the exercise.

The
party had initially set January 26, 2019, for the primaries to elect a
potential presidential candidate to compete in the next elections as the party
aims at wresting power from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

But an
injunction secured by two members of the party, who challenged the guidelines
for the elections as well as other decisions they deem unconstitutional, means
the party’s initial plans had to be altered.

Kabu
Nartey and Abdallah Issah filed the application challenging the rules and
guidelines set for the presidential election scheduled for January 26, 2019.

The
duo, in the suit, explained that the guidelines set by the party violate the
1992 Constitution of Ghana.

They
also challenged the introduction of certain eligibility criteria as conditions
precedent for presidential candidates.

The
party and the two aggrieved members have agreed to settle the matter out of
court and the court which granted the injunction subsequently struck out the
suit.

Per the
settlement, both the party and the plaintiffs have agreed that a new date for
the primaries shall be fixed in accordance with the party’s constitution.

The
settlement addressed issues with the guidelines as challenged by the
plaintiffs. The parties agreed that the requirement that a member of the NDC
aspiring to be a presidential candidate of the party must be a paid up member
for 10 years shall no longer apply.

Killer Fees

The
settlement between the party and the members also includes pegging the filing
fee for the aspirants at GH¢300,000.

According
to the settlement, the filing constitutes a contribution towards the cost of
conducting the presidential primaries.

The
party’s initial exorbitant filing fee was a bone of contention.

National
Executives of the NDC, in December last year, set GH¢400,000 and GH¢20,000 as
filing and nomination fees respectively for the presidential aspirants.

Eight
out of the initial 13 aspirants, who were unhappy with the exorbitant fees,
petitioned the party’s Council of Elders for a downward review of the fees.

The
amount was subsequently slashed to GH¢300,000 after the intervention of former
President Jerry John Rawlings, who is the Chairman of the Council of Elders and
founder of the NDC.

Notwithstanding
the injunction, seven aspirants filed their nomination before the deadline.

They
included Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Sumani Bagbin;
former Vice Chancellor of University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA),
Joshua Alabi; ex-President John Mahama; ex-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the
National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Sylvester Mensah; businessman Nurideen
Iddrisu; former Minister of Trade and Industry, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah and a cadre,
Goosie Tanoh.

John Mahama, Alban Bagbin, Joshua Alabi, Sly Mensah, all filed their nomination on Monday, December 17, 2018, while Messrs Iddrisu, Spio-Garbrah and Tanoh submitted their nomination forms on Tuesday, December 18, to generate GH¢2.24 million for a party which claims to be broke after just two years of losing power to the NPP.

BY Gibril Abdul Razak

قالب وردپرس

Latest news

Related news