Afram Plains NDC MP drops out of 2016 race

The NDC’s parliamentary candidate for the Afram Plain South in the Eastern region Joseph Appiah Boateng has opted out of the 2016 race.

Appiah who is also the incumbent MP for the area is to be replaced with the party’s Eastern regional secretary Mark-Kevor; who is currently filling his nomination form for submission to the EC.

Reports say the MP took the decision after a court granted a motion by one Dickson Adjei Danso that he should be prevented from the race because he is embroiled in a criminal case.

Lawyer for the Plaintiff Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey told the Daily Guide newspaper that “In 1998/99, the Honourable MP, known as Joseph Appiah, run away from a criminal case against him at the Osu Police Station changed his name to Charles Yeboah and travelled to new Zealand. Along the line, he got involved in a case of fraud and was convicted in Auckland and sent home to Ghana".

Lawyers for the MP, according to Starr News sources, failed to convince the Presiding Judge Patience Mills Tetteh to dismiss the case on Tuesday.

The Judge subsequently ruled that the MP cannot be allowed to embark on campaign activities as the case pends in court.