The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has rejected allegations that its elections machinery is deliberately frustrating Stephen Donkor’s attempt to challenge incumbent General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey in the party’s national executive elections.
The party’s Acting Director of IT and Elections, Mahdi Jibril, says the NDC has no interest in preventing any qualified member from contesting for a position, insisting that its online nomination system was designed to give every aspirant the opportunity to participate.
“I think it’s unfortunate if anybody would say this. This is a system we developed to allow any member of the party to be able to file and contest anybody,” he said.
“So I’m surprised if he’s saying that we are preventing him from contesting a candidate in this.”
The response follows complaints by Donkor, who is seeking to unseat Mr Kwetey, that his login credentials for the party’s online nomination portal were changed without his consent, preventing him from completing the filing process.
In a petition to the Congress Elections Committee, Donkor said he had paid the GH¢80,000 filing fee but was unable to access the portal to complete and submit Forms A and C. He asked the committee to allow him to submit his nomination without the outstanding forms while his access was restored.
However, Jibril insists the party is not blocking the aspirant’s bid. He says Donkor had visited the party’s headquarters and received assistance from officials with the nomination process.
Jibril further suggested that Donkor’s actions may have contributed to the situation, questioning whether the aspirant had shared his login details with another person.
“But I want to believe that he himself knew what he was trying to do. And that is why he’s playing to this gallery of issues. But I believe sincerely, if you have not engaged anybody to do what he’s doing, we will not be getting to this point,” he added.
The controversy comes as the NDC prepares for its December 19 National Delegates Congress, where new national executives will be elected.
As of November 9, the party’s published submission record listed Kwetey as the only aspirant to have submitted nomination forms for the General Secretary position. The party has cautioned, however, that the list is for information purposes and does not amount to confirmation of qualified candidates.
The vetting process is expected to determine which aspirants qualify to contest.
By Noble Crosby Annan
