[ 2015-04-15 ]

NPP Beats Hasty Retreat
A last minute move by the national leadership of
the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has
averted what could have been an embarrassing legal
battle, after initially failing to comply with a
Supreme Court ruling, instructing it to nullify
elections in three constituencies in the Ashanti
Region.

The leadership of the party would have been cited
for contempt, but for the eleventh hour U-turn,
ordering its regional executives to suspend
activities in the Manhyia North, Kumawu and
Juabeng constituencies.

The party had, until last week, been reluctant to
enforce a ruling by the highest court of the land,
ordering it to suspend constituency elections held
in three trouble-ridden constituencies.

Feuding factions in the three constituencies
secured judgement in their favour early this year,
after filing separate writs challenging the
credibility of constituency and polling stations
elections, organised to elect executives to steer
the affairs of the party.

The Supreme Court, therefore, ordered a re-run of
elections in the three constituencies, but the
leadership of the party refused to implement the
instructions of the court, and instead went ahead
to open nominations for the upcoming parliamentary
primaries.

But, reports that one of the petitioners from the
Kumawu Constituency had filed a writ at the
Supreme Court drawing the court’s attention to
the flouting of its orders, has compelled the
National Executives of the party to beat a hasty
retreat, and subsequently cancelled the opening of
nominations in the constituencies.

A Lecturer at the University of Ghana and lawyer
to three petitioners in the three constituencies,
Dr. Opoku Adusei, was said to have filed the writ
at the Supreme Court praying the court to bring
contempt charges against the leadership of the
biggest opposition party in the country.

A statement signed by the General Secretary of the
party, Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, has instructed
the Ashanti Regional branch of the party, chaired
by Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako, aka Chairman
Wontumi, to suspend all party activities in the
three constituencies until further notice.

The Regional Secretary of the party, Mr. Samuel
Pyne, who confirmed receiving the letter in an
interview, said the party had suspended and
revoked the opening of nominations, pending the
execution of the court order.

The three constituencies were prevented from
participating in the party’s regional and
national delegates congresses held last year to
elect regional, national and presidential
candidates of the party.

MANHYIA NORTH CONSTITUENCY

In the Manhyia North Constituency, the Member of
Parliament, Collins Owusu Amankwaah, was alleged
to have secretly organised polling station and
ward elections without the consent of the
executives of the party in November 2013.

He was said to have used an unapproved photo
album, manufactured without the knowledge of
executives of the party, and used that for the
polling station and ward elections.

Some executives of the party later organised
counter-elections and selected different polling
station and ward executives, thus rendering the
previous one organised by the MP invalid.

KUMAWU CONSTITUENCY

In the Kumawu Constituency, three petitioners,
namely Kwame Owusu Ansah, Sarpong Kumakuma and
Anthony Gyamfi Ameyaw, sought the court to declare
that the election of constituency executives in
those constituencies were not legitimate.

A similar incident occurred in the Juabeng
Constituency, where the petitioners protested
against validity of the constituency congress held
to elect executives in the area.

Source - Ghanaian Chronicle

... go Back