The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is three days away from its presidential and parliamentary primaries, but a main contender, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, has run to court to injunct the polls.
The development was confirmed by the Head of Research and Strategy for the Dr. Duffour campaign, Kofi B. Kukubor, on Asempa radio yesterday.
According to him, the magnitude of irregularities identified in the register a few days before the elections may not be rectified for the votes to be taken this Saturday.
Answering a question on what would be the next action should the party fail to address their concern, Mr. Kukubor retorted that “we have filed for an injunction,” but did not answer if the same had been granted.
The Chronicle, however, learnt at press time last night that the injunction had been secured.
A letter addressed to the General Secretary of the NDC and received on Monday, only chronicled the concerns and what the Dr. Duffuor team expected of the Elections Committee, but did not say anything about injuncting the process.
The NDC election committee has up to Friday, May 12, 2023 to address the concerns of Dr. Duffuor or have the presidential primaries put on hold, as a result of possible court orders.
CONCERN
Signed by Kofi B. Kukubor, the letter said that upon initial review of the 220 constituency voter registers, they identified several discrepancies.
According to them, the outcome of the review renders the current register “incomplete and inaccurate.”
The Duffuor team attached copies of all evidence and detailed assessments and findings, including male names with female photographs and vice versa. Also, some names have no photographs, polling station name, or number.
According to the letter, “the incomplete and inaccurate voter register has a high potential of deliberately causing irreparable damage to the bright chances of candidate Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, which we are unable to countenance.”
DEMANDS
The former Finance minister has pressed the panic button, making several demands, including the postponement of Saturday’s presidential primaries.
He is also demanding a stakeholder meeting to establish an agreeable roadmap that will guarantee the integrity of the voter register.
He further wants the party to clean up the voter register within an agreeable timeframe to ensure free and fair elections.
Dr. Duffuor says he is making those demands to save the image of the NDC so that the party can have a credible voice to speak on national election matters when the need arises.
It would be recalled that the NDC sued the Electoral Commission of Ghana after the 2020 presidential elections alleging irregularities, which is also emerging in its camp today.
One of the witnesses to that petition against the EC was Rojo Mettle-Nunoo, who is currently part of Dr. Duffuor’s campaign team that is alleging flaws in the register, ahead of the Saturday polls.
MEETING
Meanwhile, the NDC says it will meet with the parties involved to address the concerns raised about the accuracy of the party’s voter register.
According to the head of the NDC Elections Committee, Mr. Kakra Essamuah, a press conference has been scheduled to communicate officially to the public and allay any possible fear.
ASPIRANTS
The former Minister for Finance under the late Atta Mills government, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, will face off with the former head of the Economic Management Team under Prof. Mills, John Dramani Mahama and former Mayor of Kumasi during the Mahama administration, Kojo Bonsu, on Saturday, May 13, 2023.
