The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) should not be allowed to participate in the November 7 elections, that is the position of the founder and leader of the All People’s Congress (APC), Dr Hassan Ayariga.
The two parties were among 19 political parties in the country who failed to meet the deadline of the Electoral Commission (EC) for the submission of audited financial records.
According to Dr Ayariga, he would seek an injunction to bar the two major parties from contesting the parliamentary and presidential polls.
“I am going to do the checks myself, get evidence, and then I will head to the law courts to make sure that they do the right thing. If you want to lead this country, you must abide by the rules and regulations of the country,” he told Emefa Apawu on Class FM’s 505 news programme on Wednesday June 1.
The EC of Ghana in April threatened to apply sanctions in accordance with the law if the parties failed to comply with the requirement of the Political Parties’ Law Act 574. The EC, among other things, requires political parties to submit audited accounts for the year. It also requires political parties to furnish the EC with details of the existence and location of their district offices.
Speaking to Class FM’s Paa Kwesi Parker-Wilson, the Director of Finance of the EC, Joseph Kwaku Asamoah, explained that the Commission would soon meet to take a decision on the defaulters.
“We have about 26 political parties in our books and seven have been able to beat the deadline,” he stated.
But Dr Ayariga said he was “shocked that even seven filed”.
“Were they able show evidence of their offices across Ghana, that is, 144 district offices? Filing just audited accounts is not enough to qualify to contest the 2016 elections,” the 2012 People’s National Convention flagbearer said.
He continued: “If the NPP and the NDC are not able to file, that means they have breached the law and should not be allowed. If bigger parties think that they are above the law, then parties like APC will show them the way.
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