Nominations For NDC Flagbearership Contest Officially Opens

National Democratic Congress (NDC) will from this morning [Monday], open nominations the flagbearership race ahead of the primary slated for January 19, 2019.

The aspirants are expected to pay an amount of GH¢ 20,000 for picking the nomination forms and GH¢ 400,000 for the filing fee.

Aspirants including John Dramani Mahama, Sylvester Mensah, Goosie Tandoh are expected at the party's National Headquarters to pick up their forms today.

The National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi in a Citi News interview explained that interested persons will have just two days to pick the nomination form.

“In accordance with the regulations for this year's presidential primaries, nominations will be opened from the 3rd of December so aspirants who desire to contest for the flagbearershp position can pick forms at the national headquarters of the party. Nominations will be opened for just two days [3^rd and 4^th December]. The General Secretary or an Officer appointed by him will be at the national headquarters to issue our forms to various aspirants who will turn up,” he said.

Some presidential aspirants who have lamented over the GH¢ 20,000 nomination form and GH¢ 400,000 cost of the filing fee have petitioned the party's Council of Elders over the matter.

The petitioners are Alban Bagbin, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Joshua Alabi , Sylvester Mensah, Stephen Atubiga, Nurideen Iddrissu, Goosie Tanoh, Kojo Nonsu and Elikplim Agbemava, are the aspirants that have petitioned the Council.

According to them, the cost involved is “inimical to the interests of the NDC,” despite claims by the NDC's General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, that the fees were moderate.

On the matter of the filing fees for candidates, they say the figure is “unreasonable” and that calls into question “our basic commitments as social democrats.”

In the petition, the nine aspirants proposed that fees for collection of forms be GHS 5,000 whiles the filing fees be GHS100,000.

They also want an endorsement period of 6 weeks; and a polling date shifted back to the first week of March 2019.

They are also urging the Council of Elders to “demand that the Party Chairman, General Secretary and any other members of NEC or the Party Secretariat that have demonstrated bias in favour of a particular candidate recuse themselves from the Primaries process forthwith.”

Source: citinewsroom.com | Ghana