NDC asks members to suspend campaign

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked its members to suspend all campaigns and focus on the ongoing national exhibition of the voters register.

According to the party, it attached serious attention to the ongoing national exhibition of voters register hence the need to suspend all campaigns.

This was contained in a statement signed by the General Secretary of the party, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia.

Consequently, the party is urging party executives at all levels to suspend all campaign activities during the day and redirect attention to the success of the exhibition exercise by enforcing strict supervision at the exhibition centres across the country.

The party also suggested to aspiring officers to reschedule all public engagements to the evenings to enable them to offer maximum support to party representatives at the exhibition centres during the day in the interest of the party and the nation as a whole.

The NDC is in the process of organising its regional and national executive elections, ahead of presidential election in 2016.

But the exercise is in limbo due to a number of court actions facing some constituency branches, particularly in the Greater Accra Region. 

A member of the party, Mr Linus Njonolah, also secured an injunction at the Kumasi High Court last month to stop all internal elections.

He is questioning the legitimacy of the current executive members and their locus to organise the national congress. He claimed the national executive members had overstayed their welcome.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to resolve differences within the party, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the  party expunged a clause preventing members from standing for party positions unless they had occupied positions at the lower level of the party or in government.

The party will therefore, re-open nominations for members to contest various positions at the regional level. This will enable those who are disqualified to pick their forms and file their nominations to contest the regional positions.

Clause C sub-section 6 of the guidelines of the party states that “before any member of the NDC contests the regional election, he or she must have held a position at the lower level of the party or government.”

But at an emergency NEC meeting of the party in Accra this week, it expunged the clause preventing members from standing for party positions unless they had occupied positions at the lower level of the party or in government.

Mr Asiedu Nketia, who briefed the press,  said the need to call the NEC meeting to expunge the clause was imperative to bring harmony into party affairs.