General Secretary, John Boadu
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has suspended its parliamentary primaries due to Covid-19.
The primaries were originally scheduled for April 25, 2020, to elect parliamentary candidates in constituencies where the party has sitting Members of Parliament ahead of the 2020 General Elections.
The decision to suspend the primaries, according to a statement issued by the General Secretary, John Boadu, was taken by the party at a National Steering Committee meeting held on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, to conform with the President’s ban on social gatherings as part of national efforts towards the containment of the COVID-19 epidemic.
The National Steering Committee, by reason of Article 10(10)(1) of the party’s constitution, is the body responsible for overseeing the daily management of the party, and thus, mandated to “act on behalf of the party on urgent matters” such as in the circumstances we find ourselves as a party and nation owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement says.
It would, indeed, be recalled that the President of the Republic, on April 12, 2020, extended, pursuant to EI 64, the ban on social gathering including religious and political activities by additional two weeks. i.e. from April 12 to April 26, 2020, as part of measures to stop the spread of the deadly Coronavirus in the country.
In the light of this development, the party is unable to hold the primaries as planned, and has accordingly postponed same till further notice, it added.
“The party regrets all inconveniences that this may occasion, and hopes to hold this crucial exercise, sooner than later,” it said.
By Melvin Tarlue