Uncertainty Hits NDC Primaries Amid Court Injunction

It is unlikely that the Presidential and Parliamentary Primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will take place on the originally scheduled date- this Saturday.

This is because the Electoral Commission of Ghana has decided to observe an interlocutory injunction filed to restrain it from supervising the elections.

The Commission relayed this message to representatives of all the three aspirants of the party’s presidential primary on Wednesday, May 10.

According to the EC, it cannot supervise the elections for fear of being cited for contempt of court.

The restraining order was secured by Dr Kwabena Dufffour- one of the presidential aspirants- against the primaries scheduled for May 13 following concerns that there are discrepancies and inaccuracies in the voter’s register also known as Photo Album.

The suit came after he had written to the National Secretary of the party about his concerns saying, “Upon review of the 220 constituencies voters register (photo album) we identified several discrepancies in the register that indicate it is both incomplete and inaccurate.”

In his writ filed at the High Court on May 9, he said, “The Plaintiff adds that to their utmost surprise, upon verification, it was found that the number of constituencies on the hard drive given to his representatives was 220 in number as opposed to the alleged number of 228 constituencies indicated by Defendant”.

The Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa said says it was served the application for Interlocutory Injunction on May 9.

“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,” she told them.