We will supervise our own election if EC fails – NDC
The opposition National Democratic Congress says it will conduct and supervise its presidential and parliamentary primaries scheduled for Saturday, May 13, 2023, if the Electoral Commission (EC) fails to take charge.
The EC, at a meeting with the leadership of the NDC on Wednesday, indicated that it would not supervise the Party’s primaries following a suit filed by one of the presidential aspirants, Dr Kwabena Duffuor.
Dr Duffuor has subsequently withdrawn the case, paving the way for the elections to be held on Saturday.
Addressing a news conference, on Friday, in Accra, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the National Chairman of the NDC, indicated that, the Party was yet to receive any assurance or otherwise from the EC on its readiness to supervise the party’s primaries despite having engaged the Commission earlier today.
He said the Party would resort to internal structures to carry out the exercise of conducting the primaries if the EC failed in that regard.
The decision to use the Party’s internal election management body, he said, was taken following a Functional Executive Council (FEC) meeting held earlier today.
“Our preference is for them to discharge on their obligations they have taken to do but, if they fail then, we will resort to other means of getting our candidates elected tomorrow,” he said.
He urged aggrieved parties or parties which might be aggrieved after the elections to use the Party’s internal structures for redress.
Giving further details ahead of the primaries, Mr Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, the Party’s General Secretary, said elections would take place in all constituencies across the country.
However, he indicated that some constituencies with special challenges had been suspended, adding that elections in such constituencies would take place at yet to be communicated date.
For the presidential elections, Mr Kwetey said polls would take place in 275 constituencies, except for Manhyia South.
Also, for Parliamentary, elections would take place in 212 constituencies, explaining that elections in 16 constituencies were on hold while candidates in 47 others would run unopposed.
In all, 356,624 voters are expected to partake in the elections, which would take place in 420 voting centres across the country.
Three aspirants are contesting for the presidential slot while 739 are vying for the various parliamentary positions.
Mr Kwetey indicated that, the primary document to be used for the elections was the delegate list, adding that the leadership.
He urged all delegates to present the EC Voters’ ID Card as a means of identification.
“I can assure you that all the logistical operations have been done for the ballot materials to reach all these designated voting centres in order for us to able to begin the voting on time,” he added.
Source: GNA