Supreme Court ruling driven by concern over leaders governing all Ghanaians — Asiedu Nketia

National Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, says the Supreme Court’s decision to abolish the delegate system for selecting presidential and parliamentary candidates aligns with an initiative he introduced within the NDC. Mr Asiedu Nketia said his objective was to democratise the party’s internal electoral process by allowing a wider participation of party members in choosing candidates. “It was my initiative to democratise as much as possible the presidential primaries,” he said on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, August 4.

“The whole nation is now compelling us to go back to do what I had introduced twelve years ago. If we had stayed on course, we would have perfected it now and taken advantage of its disadvantages, but it is not too late; we can do it,” he noted. He explained that the NDC adopted a similar approach during its 2014 internal elections before the system was later discontinued.

“It is an experiment the NDC has done before. NDC was the first party to go into this universal membership suffrage in 2014; we did it successfully, but there were challenges which we needed to address,” he added. According to him, the Supreme Court’s ruling has now reinforced the need for political parties to move towards a more inclusive system, leaving the NDC with no option but to comply with the directive.

The Supreme Court, in a 5–2 majority decision, ruled that the delegate system used by political parties to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates is unconstitutional and directed parties to replace it within one year with a system that allows all members in good standing to vote in internal primaries. Mr Asiedu Nketia argued that the NDC had already implemented a similar system during its 2014 internal elections, making it capable of adapting to the new directive. According to him, “We don’t have an option; it is the law.

It is practical; we have done it before,” he said on JoyNews’ PM Express. He said the court’s ruling aligns with the party’s earlier efforts to broaden participation in its internal elections. According to him, although some members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) have raised concerns about the decision, the ruling remains binding on all political parties.

He added that the NDC would take the necessary steps to adjust its internal electoral structures to meet the one-year timeline set by the Supreme Court. READ ALSO: One year is enough to replace delegates system with one-member-one-vote – Asiedu Nketia The Supreme Court, in a 5–2 majority decision, declared the delegate system used by political parties to select presidential and parliamentary candidates unconstitutional and directed parties to allow all members in good standing to participate in internal primaries. Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, August 4, Mr Asiedu Nketia shared his perspective on the landmark ruling, which ordered political parties to replace the delegate system within one year with a process that allows all members in good standing to vote in presidential and parliamentary primaries.