Sunday, 30 November

Kpandai rerun: GFL boss urges NDC to contest all disputed seats

General News
Abraham Koomson, General Secretary of GFL

 The Secretary-General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Mr. Abraham Koomson, has called on the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to remain steadfast and aggressively pursue every parliamentary seat affected by legal or electoral disputes.

Mr. Koomson believes that winning such seats—particularly those currently held by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP)—will weaken the party’s influence and curb any possibility of its return to power, which he argues would be detrimental to Ghanaian workers.

Speaking on Ahotor FM’s Saturday show, he specifically urged the NDC to “go all out” to secure victory in the upcoming parliamentary rerun in the Kpandai constituency.

“The NDC should be poised. They should go all out and contest any seat that has issues.

And if they end up taking all such seats, I will be very happy,” he said.

His comments follow a ruling by the Tamale High Court ordering a fresh parliamentary election in Kpandai.

Presided over by His Lordship Emmanuel Brew Plange, the court directed the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct the rerun within 30 days.

The decision stems from a petition by former MP and NDC parliamentary candidate Daniel Nsala Wakpal, who contested the election of Matthew Nyindam as MP. Mr. Wakpal alleged widespread irregularities in the December 7 parliamentary polls, including inconsistencies on FORM 8A (Pink Sheets) in 41 out of 152 polling stations.

The court upheld these claims, concluding that the irregularities compromised the integrity of both the voting and collation processes, thus warranting a rerun.

In response, incumbent MP Matthew Nyindam has said he is unfazed by the ruling and remains ready to contest again if required.

The Electoral Commission is expected to announce the modalities for the fresh election in the coming days.

However, Mr. Koomson insists that the NDC must prepare adequately to reclaim the seat.

He argued that workers suffered severely under the NPP administration and cautioned voters against giving the  party another mandate.

 

“As a unionist, the suffering Akufo-Addo brought to workers was unbearable. Look at the bank closures, the haircut, and the rest. We cannot afford to entertain this kind of mindset again. The NDC needs to remain focused,” he added.

Source: Classfmonline.com/Cecil Mensah