By Ohenenana Kofinipa
Stakeholders of Ghana’s main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), are anxiously debating whether they have a genuinely-aggrieved member on their hands or a mole of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) bent on scuttling their third attempt at winning the Ghana Presidency.
Twice David Hoezame, former NPP Chairman of Central Tongu Constituency in the Volta region which shares a border with Togo, has sued his party, seeking interim injunctions against its operations.
Hoezame’s grouse the first time was that the NPP National Council, the second highest decision making organ of the party had been unconstitutionally constituted for the past 20 years and thereby excluding some regional representative out of it.
Caught pants down, the NPP leadership quickly ordered regional elections for composition of the National Council, making it the party constitution-compliant.
The party then opened nominations for its flagbearership race which the party constitution stipulates must be elected two years before the next election when the party is in opposition. That election has been scheduled for December 6, 2014.
Seven NPP stalwarts filed for the opportunity to square off with President John Dramani Mahama on December 7, 2016. A nine-member vetting committee has since cleared all 7. But the NPP constitution limits aspirants for its flagbearer slot to five, so the party has scheduled a special congress for August 31 to prune the number to five.
Now Hoezame has dragged the NPP and its chairman back to court, threatening to scatter the national delegates’ congress that would elect the party’s presidential candidate for 2016. He is seeking three reliefs, including a restraining order to stop the party from going ahead with the vetting of seven aspirants vying to lead the party in 2016.
The NPP-card carrying member had, only last month, gone to court to protest the regional elections conducted by the party, in the wake of his complaint, had been hurriedly organized this detriment.
Having amended his writ, he is asking the court to restrain the party from proceeding with the Special Delegate’s Congress that will prune the seven candidates to five, if all of them are to sail through the vetting process.
The former Chairman of the Central Tongu Constituency in the Volta Region is also asking the court to restrain the party from organising the presidential primaries slated for October 18, 2014, instead of the earlier December 6, 2014.
His plea is that the composition of a new National Council of the party to superintend the vetting, Special Delegates Congress and party’s primaries is wrongly constituted and illegal.
A 28-point affidavit filed by his lawyers Hoezame, insists that on July 16, 2014 the illegally constituted National Council further violated the party’s constitution by scheduling October 18, 2014 as the date for the election of the party’s presidential candidates.
“The behaviour of the defendants has put the entire New Patriotic Party into disarray.
“If the status quo is not restored within the New Patriotic Party, the party will disintegrate and the Republic of Ghana may suffer for want of a viable alternative to the ruling party towards national development.
“If that happens I will not have done my duty as a member of the New Patriotic Party…” the affidavit stated.