The incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) has suspended its April 25, parliamentary primaries indefinitely in tandem with the President’s Akufo-Addo ban on public gatherings in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic in Ghana.
The latest decision to suspend the parliamentary primaries was decided at a National Steering Committee meeting held on Tuesday, April 14, 2020.
The party said in a statement stated that: “The National Steering Committee, by reason of Article 10(10)(1) of the party’s constitution, is the body responsible for overseeing the daily management of the party, and thus, mandated to “act on behalf of the party on urgent matters” such as in the circumstances we find ourselves as a party and nation owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. It would, indeed, be recalled that the President of the Republic, on April 12, 2020, extended, pursuant to EI 64, the ban on social gathering including religious and political activities for additional two weeks. i.e. from April 12 to April 26, 2020, as part of measures to stop the spread of the deadly Coronavirus in the country.”
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The statement added that “In the light of this development, the party is unable to hold the primaries as planned, and has accordingly postponed the same till further notice. The party regrets all inconveniences that this may occasion, and hopes to hold this crucial exercise, sooner than later.”
The NPP has 169 sitting Members of Parliament out of the total 275 seats in parliament.
The party has already held primaries for orphan constituencies; areas that did not have sitting Members of Parliament.
Meanwhile, The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Western Region weeks ago held a balloting exercise for the upcoming parliamentary primaries slated for April 25, 2020.
The exercise allotted numbers to the contesting aspirants for them to commence their respective campaigns ahead of parliamentary primaries.
Supporters of the aspirants thronged the Western Region office of the NPP to witness the balloting exercise.
Fourteen (14) aspirants from seven (7) constituencies participated in the exercise.
