3 Ashanti constituencies remain banned from NPP election - Lawyer

Lawyer of three New Patriotic Party members in the Kumewu, Juaben and Manhyia North constituencies, has stated the party would violate a court order, if it allows delegates from the three constituencies to vote in the upcoming Super Delegates Congress.

Dr. Opoku Adusei explained that because an Accra Fast Track High court had declared the election of party executives in the constituencies illegitimate, until a re-run is held delegates from the three constituencies can not participate in any internal election.

The party members; 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.

For this reason, executives from the constituencies were disallowed by the Electoral Commission from voting at the party's delegates' congress in Tamale in April, this year.

Dr. Adusei argued that because the matter was pending in court and the order is still effective, those executives have no business to even take part in Sunday's Super Delegates congress to be held in all regional headquarters.

But in a sharp rebuttal, Ashanti Regional Secretary of the party, Samuel Pyne said personally, he had not received any court notification about the claims.

According to him, he only received a suit from the Manhyia North constituency to have its election of officers re-run and they did just that.

Mr. Pyne also explained that an interim injunction was rather placed on both the Kumewu and Juaben constituency elections but they were no longer valid.

He insisted there could not be a re-run for the other constituencies (Kumewu and Juaben) because they went through all the process successfully.

Therefore, executives from those areas are entitled to vote, come Sunday.

He stressed “until somebody is injuncted as I know; these three constituencies are going to vote in Sunday's election.”