A group of aggrieved electoral area coordinator aspirants and members of the governing New Patriotic Party in the Kumbungu constituency in the northern region, have threatened to take legal actions against the conduct of the upcoming constituency executives’ election unless a free, fair and transparent elections are organized across all electoral areas where more than one person contested for the position.
The group accused the District Chief Executive, Abdul Salam Hamza Fatawu, the NPP constituency Chairman, Alhassan Issahaka and the constituency elections committee of undermining the constitution of the party and the guidelines outlined for the conduct of the electoral area coordinators polls.
Sulemana Abdul Rauf, also known as Governor, said he will personally lead a petition to the High Court for an injunction to be put on the impending constituency executives’ elections unless the party’s constitution is upheld and the people are allowed to vote for their preferred candidates.
THE CUSTODIAN has learned some party members picked nominations and filed to contest 13 incumbent electoral area coordinators out of a total number of 24. The remaining 11 coordinators however stand unopposed.
This, therefore, called for elections to be conducted in the areas where more one person showed interest.
Breach of party rules
According to the disgruntled youth, point 22 of the guidelines for the conduct of the Electoral Area Coordinators elections, vetting of prospective aspirants was scheduled on March 16, before the conduct of the polls on March 18, 2022, which they lamented never happened.
“Point 22 of the guidelines further provides that prospective aspirants who feel aggrieved at any point in the electoral process must exhaust all internal dispute resolution mechanisms in accordance with article 4 of the party’s constitution” they added.
The aspirants alleged the preferred candidates of the DCE and executives have been handpicked to become the electoral area coordinators against the sovereignty of the people.
Tolerate divergent views
Mr. Sulemana maintained every political organization thrive with divergent views and opinions even in their disagreement, such is done constructively.
He further blamed the District Chief Executive and leadership of the party for allowing their parochial interest to override the collective interest of the party.
“So any decision that will come and go a long way to make the party unattractive, you should be seen solving that problem for the party to develop. The DCE knows me very well because I was with during the elections even though I contested with him but I supported his election because we wanted the party to develop, so we moved from 5000 to 18,000 plus – first in the history of the Kumbungu constituency, so that should tell us that the party is on the journey to victory” he asserted.
Meanwhile, THE CUSTODIAN can report that elections were held at the Dalun, Cheyohi and Nayilifong electoral areas.
THE CUSTODIAN has learned the coordinator for Dalun resigned and the Cheyohi coordinator passed away some time ago making the positions became vacant.
However, three candidates contested the Nayilifong electoral area and the incumbent coordinator lost after the polls. This, the aggrieved members alleged the DCE and constituency Chairman masterminded the process to oust the incumbent out because he didn’t support the DCE in the 2019parliamentary primaries of the party.
