Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw
Owusu
Monday,
December 07, 2015
Some elements in the ruling National
Democratic Congress (NDC) are fighting tooth and nail to prevent the first
daughter of former President Jerry John Rawlings from going to serve the party
in Parliament, claiming that she is not a registered voter.
Four members of the party - two each from Osu and Asylum Down in the
Klottey Korle constituency - are challenging the eligibility of Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings,
who won during the party’s primary in the area, beating the incumbent and
former Minister of Employment, Ishmael Nii Armah Ashietey.
The four - Joseph Narku Botchway and Rev Michael Kwabena Nil Adjei Sowah,
all of Osu as well as Jacob Amin and Alhaji Mohammed Mahmud, from Asylum Down -
have petitioned the party’s leadership to disqualify Dr Agyeman-Rawlings or
they will ‘advise themselves.’
Sources say the petitioners are enjoying the support of some influential
members of the NDC, including ministers and other appointees, who are strongly
against Zanetor’s victory over Nii Armah Ashietey and therefore want the results
overturned.
EC Enquiries
As if that was not enough, a private legal practitioner, Gary Nimako,
has written to the Electoral Commission (EC) requesting for details of Dr Agyeman-Rawlings’
voter registration history; but it is not certain whether the commission has
been able to provide the information for the lawyer.
It is unclear what Mr Nimako is seeking the information for, but sources
say an interested NDC member in the constituency instructed the lawyer as part
of efforts to challenge the eligibility of the former president’s daughter they
claim has no EC voter ID card.
Party’s Rules
In their letter titled, “Petition for the disqualification of Dr Zanetor
Agyeman-Rawlings,” the four claimed that one of the contestants - Dr Agyeman-Rawlings
- “did not qualify to contest the primaries because she was not a registered
voter.”
“The party's own rules that guided the conduct of the primaries provided
that a member of the NDC shall not qualify to contest any primaries in any of
the parliamentary seats if that member does not satisfy the requirement for the
election of the Member of Parliament as provided in Article 94, Section 1(a) of
the 1992 Constitution,” they averred.
The petitioners said, “The true meaning of the rules and the law is
simply that a member is disqualified from contesting primaries if the member's
name is not on the EC voter register.
“We are convinced Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings’ name is not on the EC
voter register, considering that she was not registered in the party's
biometric register which was a product of the EC voter register and which was
used in the last primaries.
“From the above, we are of the firm belief that the afore-mentioned
person should have been disqualified from contesting the primaries because she
was not a registered voter.
“We wish to appeal to you to take the necessary steps to remedy the
situation within 24 hours, failing which we will advise ourselves accordingly,”
they pointed out.
Ejisu Candidate Sued
In a related development, Gloria
Huzey, who defeated Afrifa Yamoah Ponkoh during the recent NDC parliamentary
primaries in Ejisu in the Ashanti Region,
is in trouble as Local Government Minister and Rural Development, Collins Dauda,
has sued her for defamation.
Gloria was said to have strongly
protested the re-nomination of Mr Yamoah Ponkoh, former Municipal Chief
Executive (MCE) for the same position, accusing Alhaji Collins Dauda of receiving
GH¢400,000 (¢4 billion) bribe from the re-appointed MCE.
Gloria, Deputy
Ashanti Regional Women’s Organiser of the NDC, polled 1,150 votes to beat her
challengers, Kwaku Afrifa Yamoah Ponkoh and K. Obeng Darko, who garnered 366
and 796 votes respectively.
However, days after
the parliamentary duel, Yamoah Ponkoh’s name emerged as the re-appointed MCE
for Ejisu Juaben.
Gloria Huzey did not take kindly to
Ponkoh’s renewed role and launched a tirade at Alhaji Collins Dauda, accusing
him of receiving the above-quoted amount of money in exchange for the re-appointment.
She was subsequently suspended for the attack on the minister.
But the suspension
was not enough as Collins Dauda initiated a court action against her demanding
GH¢5 million for exemplary and general damages.
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