The Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba, has announced that the court will hear the injunction case against the party’s presidential primaries on Friday, May 12, 2023, instead of the previously scheduled date of Monday, May 15. This development is crucial for the party because its presidential and parliamentary primaries are slated for Saturday, May 13, 2023.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, Mr. Amaliba stated that the party had applied for an abridgement of time after flagbearer hopeful Dr. Kwabena Duffour filed a suit seeking to halt the presidential primaries from taking place on Saturday, May 13. The private legal practitioner confirmed the changes to the host of Top Story, Evans Mensah.
“We actually wanted Thursday, but the registry indicated to us that that is difficult because of some issues relating to scanning of the processes that would have to take place. And the judge who is going to preside must have foreknowledge of the process, so the available time has been fixed for Friday,” Mr. Amaliba explained.
He also indicated that they would move to have the suit thrown out, stating that the party would suffer greatly if the injunction is granted. “The party has invested so much money in this thing. Don’t forget that delegates have started moving to their centres. Those in island communities who have to travel by river for a day and then go and sleep over have started moving, so, if you look at the combined effects and hardship, surely it is the party that will suffer,” he added.
The injunction case follows a lawsuit filed by Dr. Kwabena Duffour, an aspirant of the presidential primaries, on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. In the lawsuit, Dr. Duffour claimed that the party failed to provide the necessary photo album register in compliance with the party’s rules, five weeks prior to the elections. He added that a partial photo album register was given to his team on May 4, although they had requested it in March.
Furthermore, he claimed that the hard drive provided to his representatives contained 220 constituencies, contrary to the defendant’s supposed 228 constituencies.
Dr. Duffour has expressed his concerns about the lack of a complete photo album register and requested that the elections be postponed. However, the party has ignored his request. Consequently, he has approached the court seeking an interlocutory injunction to prevent the party and its national officers from conducting the elections on May 13.
In the meantime, the Electoral Commission has announced that it will not oversee the primaries until all pending legal matters are resolved. The Commission has stated that proceeding with the primaries under these circumstances would be a violation of judicial proceedings and could be considered contempt of court.
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