New date to be set for NDC flagbearer elections – Asiedu Nketiah

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is likely to change the date of its primaries to elect its flag bearer ahead of the 2020 general elections.

The General secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu (General Mosquito) who announced this on Inside Politics on Radio XYZ 93.1 said it was so because the party had halted its preparations toward the primaries following an interim injunction an Accra High Court placed on the elections.

The interim injunction followed the filing of a suit by two members of the NDC in Accra, who claimed that the guidelines for the conduct of the election introduced by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party were against the 1992 constitution of the NDC.

The plaintiffs – Abdallah Issa from Galelia and James Kabu Natey-Oman from Old Bortianor – applied for the injunction to restrain the party and its committees agents and authorised bodies from proceeding with the 2019 Presidential Election in the manner outlined in its published guidelines until the final ruling of the court.

However, on Monday, January 14, 2018, the plaintiffs agreed to settle the issue out of court with the party after Counsel for the NDC, Samuel Cudjoe told the Accra High Court that the parties were in talks to reach a settlement.

Confirming the news, Mr Asiedu Nketiah disclosed that the party, led by its national Chairman, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, was negotiating with the parties to settle the matter and present the terms to the court.

“Our chairman, Mr Ofosu Ampofo, an Elder of the Church of Pentecost led the negotiations and now the matter is almost out of court, so we are yet to start the processes all over again,” he told Mugabe Maase, host of the programme.

The primaries to elect a flag bearer for the NDC was slated for 26 January, 2018, but General Mosquito says the party will finalise on a new date later.

“What has happened will definitely affect the date we had earlier set,” he added and asked party members to be calm as the executives put things in order ahead of the primaries which he said will take place soon.

The parties in the case will on Thursday, January 17, 2018 present their negotiations to the court as agreed.