An Accra High Court is today scheduled to hear an injunction application filed by one of the contenders in the presidential primaries of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Kwabena Duffuor over allegations of discrepancies and inaccuracies in the party’s voter register.
The party is said to have failed in its efforts to settle the case out of court as all attempts to meet legal representatives of the plaintiff had failed.
This has paved the way for the injunction to be heard.
Leadership of the party is, however, confident about the election taking off as scheduled and has since directed all aspirants and delegates to be prepared for it.
The court is yet to determine whether the presidential and parliamentary primaries will take place tomorrow Saturday May 13, 2023 with the current register which had been described as flawed and bloated.
Even before the case will be heard, the NDC had filed for an abridgement of time at the court to have the suit filed by flagbearer aspirant Dr Kwabena Duffuor against the party to be heard on Friday, May 12.
The party had prayed the High Court to have the suit heard on Thursday, May 11 but had fell on rocks.
The High Court had scheduled Monday, May 15 for deposition from the plaintiff. This would result in the indefinite postponement of the primaries.
According to the Director of Legal Affairs, Abraham Amaliba, the court decided to accommodate the application on Friday, May 12 after giving the pretext that Thursday was impossible.
Prior to the hearing of the case, Mr. Amaliba speaking on 3FM said most “of the things for which [Dr Duffuor and his camp] have gone to court are borne out of ignorance. They need education”.
According to him, most of the concerns raised by the Duffuor camp could have been settled without any court intervention.
Mr Amaliba insists that the album is complete and available for team Duffuor and the other two candidates.
He said a meeting with Dr Duffuor’s camp on the earlier petition it raised on Tuesday was abandoned for no reason.
Dr Duffuor has filed for an injunction against the primaries, slated for Saturday, May 13, after complaining about flaws in the album.
According to the writ, filed on Tuesday, May 9, the number of constituencies given on the hard drive was 220 instead of 228.
The Duffuor team wants the primaries suspended over what they describe as discrepancies in the voter register and the absence of a photo album. They want the elections stayed until all outstanding issues raised are addressed.
“The Plaintiff adds further that an initial verification of the said 220 constituencies on the hard drive given to his representatives by the 2nd Defendant established basic errors and inaccuracies that render the Photo Album Register inaccurate and unreliable for a free, fair and credible elections.”
The Electoral Commission (EC) was served with the injunction notice on Wednesday and so, wrote to the NDC to dissociate from the polls.
By Vincent Kubi