Kojo BonsuÂ
A flagbearer candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kojo Bonsu, has backed his rival in the race, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, in his appeal for the party to postpone the Saturday presidential primary.
According to him, the irregularities in the party’s voter registry are major sources of concern, with the potential to affect the outcome of the May 13, 2023 primary.
His remarks follow a writ filed in an Accra High Court by Dr. Kwabena Duffour alleging that the party failed to deliver the needed photo album register five weeks to the polls, as required by the party’s regulations.
Duffuor’s Case
According to Dr. Duffuor, a partial photo album register was given to his team on May 4, a few days ahead of the elections instead of March when they had submitted a request for one.
The injunction application seeks to halt the presidential primary, with the plaintiff claiming that the partial delivery of the photo album to his representatives on May 4, 2023 was out of time, given the magnitude of the verification exercise required of them prior to the internal elections on May 13, 2023.
According to him, data from 220 out of the 275 constituencies have been verified, and that an exceptional list of 74,799 has been created which cannot be verified because of scanty information.
He highlighted, among other things, that 3,910 qualified voters in the 220 seats had been disenfranchised for no reasonable cause.
It continued that the plaintiff claimed that an initial verification of the said 220 constituencies on the hard drive provided to his representatives by the 2nd Defendant revealed basic errors and inaccuracies that render the Photo Album Register inaccurate and untrustworthy for a free, fair, and credible election.
Kojo Bonsu’s Reaction
Reacting to the suit, Mr. Bonsu told Kumasi-based OTEC FM that the move by Dr. Duffuor was in the right direction since it would provide ample time for the executives to fix the problem in the party’s electoral roll.
For him, it is up to the party executives to do the right thing, complaining that already the elections and processes are skewed in one way to benefit candidate John Dramani Mahama.
The former KMA Mayor said the call for suspension and addressing the anomalies was not a fight, and it is in the interest of the NDC.
He warned that if the party does not postpone the election date and correct the errors in the register, it risks facing many legal actions from members of the party.
Amaliba
Meanwhile, Abraham Amaliba, the NDC’s Director of Legal Affairs, stated that the party had been served with the injunction application filed against the impending presidential primary.
He stated that the court had scheduled the hearing for May 15, two days after the internal elections, and added that the party was attempting to ensure that it took place before Saturday.
He described the suit as frivolous, vexatious and an attempt to disturb the organisation of the internal elections.
By Ernest Kofi Adu