A last minute move by the national leadership of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has averted what could have been an embarrassing legal battle, after initially failing to comply with a Supreme Court ruling, instructing it to nullify elections in three constituencies in the Ashanti Region.
The leadership of the party would have been cited for contempt, but for the eleventh hour U-turn, ordering its regional executives to suspend activities in the Manhyia North, Kumawu and Juabeng constituencies.
The party had, until last week, been reluctant to enforce a ruling by the highest court of the land, ordering it to suspend constituency elections held in three trouble-ridden constituencies.
Feuding factions in the three constituencies secured judgement in their favour early this year, after filing separate writs challenging the credibility of constituency and polling stations elections, organised to elect executives to steer the affairs of the party.
The Supreme Court, therefore, ordered a re-run of elections in the three constituencies, but the leadership of the party refused to implement the instructions of the court, and instead went ahead to open nominations for the upcoming parliamentary primaries.
But, reports that one of the petitioners from the Kumawu Constituency had filed a writ at the Supreme Court drawing the court’s attention to the flouting of its orders, has compelled the National Executives of the party to beat a hasty retreat, and subsequently cancelled the opening of nominations in the constituencies.
A Lecturer at the University of Ghana and lawyer to three petitioners in the three constituencies, Dr. Opoku Adusei, was said to have filed the writ at the Supreme Court praying the court to bring contempt charges against the leadership of the biggest opposition party in the country.
A statement signed by the General Secretary of the party, Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, has instructed the Ashanti Regional branch of the party, chaired by Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako, aka Chairman Wontumi, to suspend all party activities in the three constituencies until further notice.
The Regional Secretary of the party, Mr. Samuel Pyne, who confirmed receiving the letter in an interview, said the party had suspended and revoked the opening of nominations, pending the execution of the court order.
The three constituencies were prevented from participating in the party’s regional and national delegates congresses held last year to elect regional, national and presidential candidates of the party.
MANHYIA NORTH CONSTITUENCY
In the Manhyia North Constituency, the Member of Parliament, Collins Owusu Amankwaah, was alleged to have secretly organised polling station and ward elections without the consent of the executives of the party in November 2013.
He was said to have used an unapproved photo album, manufactured without the knowledge of executives of the party, and used that for the polling station and ward elections.
Some executives of the party later organised counter-elections and selected different polling station and ward executives, thus rendering the previous one organised by the MP invalid.
KUMAWU CONSTITUENCY
In the Kumawu Constituency, three petitioners, namely Kwame Owusu Ansah, Sarpong Kumakuma and Anthony Gyamfi Ameyaw, sought the court to declare that the election of constituency executives in those constituencies were not legitimate.
A similar incident occurred in the Juabeng Constituency, where the petitioners protested against validity of the constituency congress held to elect executives in the area.
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