Delay in NPP flagbearer primaries will trigger court action – Asah Asante

A political science lecturer at the University of Ghana (UG), Asah Asante, has warned the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to avoid court actions over undue delays with their presidential primaries.

His comments come on the heels of the NPP’s inability to decide on timelines for flagbearer and parliamentary elections after its National Council meeting held on February 2, 2023.

Earlier reports attributed to the Council said the party had set November 2023 to elect its presidential candidate, January 2024 to elect parliamentary candidates for constituencies with sitting NPP Members of Parliament (MPs), and April 2024 for constituencies without sitting NPP MPs.

But in a statement, the NPP said timelines for the internal polls were yet to be concluded.

Commenting on the issue on Morning Starr with Francis Abban on Monday, Mr. Asante stated that most of the theories being churned out for earlier presidential primaries are not scientific.

"If you look at the NPP as being people who uphold the rule of law, which I also believe, it is in their own interest to set a date and then begin the constitutional process of getting a flagbearer for their party. Because they know that when they fail, some people will go to court and make sure that the rules are followed.

"There are rules for every engagement, and I am not sure the party will want to circumvent any process. I can understand those who are calling for an early Congress and all that. You know their interests, and I also know their interests," Mr. Asante stated.

He debunked the political theory that the NPP electing a flag bearer would undermine the president's authority.

"Nobody can undermine the authority of the president so long as he continues to be within his tenure. So that argument doesn’t come in. But the thing is that when you elect a flag bearer now, which is within time, you will be able to expose him to the public, and he will begin to plan his campaign and get acclimatized to the system. Then design whatever strategy there is to his campaign and all that.

"But the problem associated with it is that if you delay, you are going to compound problems. Because governance comes with its own problems, so the earlier you do this the better so that you can know that this is governance and this is flagbearership and all that."