Valentino Nii Noi Nortey, Parliamentary candidate-elect for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Korle Klottey Constituency, has joined the suit brought against the party and the Electoral Commission by Philip Addison and Nii Adjei Tawiah.
The two (Philip Addison and Nii Adjei Tawiah) were all candidates who contested for the NPP Korle Klottey Constituency primary but lost to Nii Noi Nortey.
According to him, since all the reliefs brought against the NPP and the EC are about his victory in the August 2, 2015 internal party elections, it was important for him to join the suit to enable him also tells his side of the story.
“If I sit down for the Plaintiff to get judgement in default against the party and the said judgement is set aside by the court, I am the one who is going to lose. So, since I am an interested party in the case, I have to join it,” he said in an interview with Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.3 FM Wednesday.
Mr. Nortey, Kasapafmonline.com learnt filed to join the case at the High Court on November 16, 2015.
Aggrieved Mr. Addison and Nii Adjei Tawiah have filed a fresh suit at the High Court seeking among other reliefs a re-run of election in the constituency.
In their view, the voters register used for the conduct of the purported elections on August 2, 2015 was not the one certified by the Korle Klottey Parliamentary Elections Committee for the conduct for the elections.
In addition to that the rules and regulations required the Parliamentary Elections Committee to receive and keep the constituency register until same is submitted to the Electoral Commission.
“The duly certified register was inspected by all the aspirants and same was kept by the Parliamentary Elections Committee Secretary. This was never made available to the Electoral Commission (EC) because the 2nd day of August, 2015, was not the agreed date for the conduct of the polls.”
“The persons who organized the elections on 2nd August, 2015, procured a totally different voters register for use on that day. This infraction gave opportunity for persons whose names were not on the duly certified voters register, to cast their ballots on 2nd August, 2015.”
That aside, the two are arguing that the constituency Parliamentary Elections Committee before the holding of Parliamentary primaries, had the duty of displaying the register to aspirants in order to ensure a level playing field to aspirants in the parliamentary contest and announcing the dates for election.
This, they noted, was not done.
“The date of August 8, 2015, was not fixed for Klottey Korle primaries with the Regional Executive Committee, the constituency chairperson and all aspirants. Nowhere in the rules and regulations governing the conduct of the parliamentary primaries is the General Secretary of 1st defendant empowered to, suo motu. Fix dates for the election of a parliamentary candidate.”
But the party, Kasapafmonline.com understands, did not show appearance at the court when the matter was called for hearing.
Nii Noi Nortey commenting further said he did not understand why the party did not show up at the court even though it has been served with a copy of the writ of summons.
Nonetheless, he said since he is an interested party, he will not sit down unconcerned for the Plaintiff to obtain default judgment but will do whatever he can within his capacity to ensure that his candidature is upheld by the court.
By: Kasapafmonline.com/Ghana