NDC insists Nkwanta North elections will proceed despite court injunction

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it will proceed with its Nkwanta North Constituency executive elections on Saturday, October 24, despite a High Court injunction restraining the exercise.

The party’s Acting Director of IT and Elections, Mahdi Jibrill, said the NDC had not been formally served with the court order and was therefore continuing preparations for the polls.

The High Court in Dambai in the Oti Region granted an interlocutory injunction restraining the elections following concerns that some individuals selected or presented as branch executives were not legitimate representatives.

Speaking to Sammie Wiafe on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Thursday, October 22, Mr Jibrill maintained that the party had no formal notice of the injunction.

“The Nkwanta North election will come on this weekend. From what I have in the data as we speak, we have no injunction on us. Nobody has served us, and party headquarters, the general secretary, is running the election of the constituency. So for us, we know the election will go on,” he said.

Mr Jibrill acknowledged that party members were entitled to seek legal redress but argued that resorting to the courts would not automatically bring the NDC’s internal electoral processes to a halt.

“You can go to court. Nobody can prevent anybody from going to court. But that doesn’t stop the election,” he said.

He urged party members to familiarise themselves with the NDC’s internal electoral guidelines, insisting that constituency elections must be conducted in accordance with the party’s established rules.

According to Mr Jibrill, the party’s data showed that only six per cent of branches in Nkwanta North had participated in the contest, while 63 per cent of the constituency had proceeded with the electoral process.

He argued that the party’s guidelines allowed delegate elections to continue once the required two-thirds threshold had been met.

“Per the guidelines of the party, once we have two-thirds, the delegate elections will go on,” he said.

Mr Jibrill also accused some party members of resorting to legal action to disrupt the electoral process after failing to achieve their preferred outcomes. However, he said the party remained willing to engage them and clarify the issues surrounding the elections.

“We will listen to them, have time for them and explain issues to them,” he added.

The planned Nkwanta North Constituency executive elections are now the subject of a legal dispute as the NDC maintains that the exercise will proceed on Saturday.