The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has disqualified 26 aspirants following its vetting exercise for the party’s upcoming internal elections, with the affected candidates expected to appeal the decisions on Monday, October 19.
Mahdi Jibrill, Acting Director of Elections and IT of the NDC, said the party had concluded vetting across the 16 regions, with about 95 to 96 per cent of aspirants going through the process.
He said the appeal process would gave the disqualified aspirants an opportunity to challenge the decisions and seek redress.
Speaking on Channel One Newsroom, Jibril said, “The 26 who have been disqualified already are waiting for the committee to sit on the appeals on Monday,” he said.
“Whatever happens at appeal, I believe that the person will be satisfied that the party has dealt with it well, and all of us will work together towards the elections,” he said.
He noted that the vetting exercise had been largely peaceful, with nine of the 16 regions completing the process without any dissatisfaction being raised by aspirants.
According to him, the acceptance of the vetting process by most aspirants demonstrated confidence in the party’s arrangements and could contribute to peaceful elections.
He said the party was making progress with preparations for the internal polls, including the printing of ballot papers for the constituency-level elections.
Mr Jibril said the ballot papers were expected to reach the districts by Wednesday ahead of the constituency elections scheduled for October 24 and 25.
He added that the party remained on course to complete its internal election calendar by December.
On campaigning, Mr Jibril explained that the party’s advice against the use of billboards was intended to encourage aspirants to focus their resources on reaching delegates rather than advertising to the general public.
He said the internal elections were delegate-based, making direct engagement with delegates a more practical approach to campaigning.
He clarified, however, that the party’s position on billboards was a directive rather than mere advice, indicating that aspirants were expected to comply with the instruction.
The NDC is holding the internal elections as part of efforts to reorganise its structures and prepare for its future political activities.
