The Deputy General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Foyo Gbande, has explained the reasons behind the party’s decision to annul the outcome of the May 13 parliamentary primaries held in the Amenfi Central constituency in the Western Region.
In a press release on Thursday, September 5, the NDC announced the annulment of the primaries and provided a new date for the elections. This decision came while the Sekondi High Court was still reviewing the matter, with a final judgment expected in October.
“In the reliefs (c), (d) and (e) of the Plaintiffs’ action, they seek from the court, the annulment of the parliamentary primary election result and an order for rerun of the election,” part of the party’s statement read, adding that “the Parliamentary primaries conducted on the 13th May 2023 in Amenfi Central have been annulled forthwith.”
However, when asked in an interview on TV3 on Thursday why the party made such a decision before the court ruling, Mr. Gbande explained that the choice was made to meet a deadline set by the Electoral Commission (EC).
According to him, the NDC must file all its 275 parliamentary candidates with the EC by Tuesday, September 10. Considering that the judgment date is in October, the party could not afford the risk of not having a candidate in Amenfi Central for the December 7 parliamentary elections.
“The party is well positioned to take strategic decisions as we advance towards the general election. We have, in our meeting, declared Amenfi Central as a conflicting constituency where there are disputes about winning elections.
“So, the court in Sekondi has a adjourned the matter for judgement in October. But by law, we are supposed to file all our candidates, just next week, on 9th or 10th September. So, if we wait for the court, by the time the court determines the matter, we wouldn’t have a candidate to file. And so we run our party, regardless, the court,” Mr. Gbande explained on TV3‘s “Ghana Tonight” show.
Background
In the May 13 parliamentary primary in Amenfi Central, businesswoman Joana Gyan Cudjoe, who is also the wife of a member of the music duo Keche, was declared the winner, defeating the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah, by hundreds of votes.
Shortly after, five individuals filed a case in the Sekondi High Court in an effort to annul the results, citing irregularities and forgery of documents.
The case has been ongoing since June of last year, and recently, the court issued an injunction preventing Mrs. Cudjoe from presenting herself as the elected Parliamentary Candidate of the NDC.
In their last session, the court announced that a final judgment would be issued in October to bring closure to the year-long litigation.
