Akufo-Addo runs away from super delegates conference

Lawyer Owusu-Yeboah, who happens to be the Volta Regional Coordinator for Nana Akufo-Addo’s presidential bid, has petitioned the party’s leadership to cancel the special delegates conference slated for 31 August, 2014.

In a letter dated August 5, 2014 which was sent to the National Executives and copied to the various aspirants and other working committees of the NPP, it indicated that the upcoming super delegates congress is in conflict with provisions in the party’s constitution. Threatening a court action, the letter asked that plans for the congress be abandoned.

“It is the considered opinion of the Petitioners that the function and effect therefore of the Special Delegates Congress are inconsistent with or in contravention of the spirit and intendment of the said NPP constitution…,” the letter read.

The petition sighted Article 12 Clause 6 of the NPP’s constitution which provides that the party’s presidential candidate shall be elected by an electoral college whose membership includes both the rank and file of the party, estimated to be around 140,000.

The petitioners through the Volta Regional coordinator of Nana Akufo-Addo, believe that, the only mandated body under the NPP constitution to elect the party’s presidential candidate is the Electoral College constituted under Article 12 Clause 6 and not the purported special delegates congress under Article 12 Clause 5(b) of the same constitution.

To buttress their claims, the petitioners went further to state that “Article 55 (5) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and section 9 (a) of the political parties Act, 2000 (Act 574) mandatorily requires that the internal organization of a political party conform to democratic principles and that its actions and purposes shall not contravene or be inconsistent with the said Constitution or any other law."

“It is true that both Article 12 Clause 5(b) and Article 12 Clause 6 are the products of constitutional amendments. However, the former “neither rhymes nor reasons” with the latter. Indeed, the former makes serious adverse and unacceptable inroads into the latter and therefore is inconsistent therein or contravenes same."

“In the circumstances, the said two provisions of the NPP Constitution are incongruous and could not lawfully exist."

They mentioned that they are unable to see what practical purpose the planned special congress would serve in the party’s presidential contest.

The petitioners who are card bearing members of the NPP, through Mr. Owusu-Yeboah, their Lawyer, and also the Volta Regional Coordinator for Nana Akufo-Addo's bid to lead the party, signed the petition and expressly admonished the leadership of the party to cancel the scheduled super delegates congress or alternatively will seek redress in the court of law in the event that the petitioners do not receive a favorable response.