The two leading political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have intensified the verification and screening of the documents of their parliamentary aspirants ahead of the filing of nominations.
Guided by events in the aftermath of the 2020 parliamentary elections and the court cases that ensued over the legitimacy of some successful Members of Parliament, the parties are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that all boxes are ticked before filing their nomination forms.
Whereas the NPP has constituted a nine-member Parliamentary Verification Committee to screen the documents of aspirants from across the 276 constituencies, the NDC has tasked its constituency elections secretariats to comply strictly with the Party’s guidelines on the filling of nomination forms.
In the 2020 parliamentary elections, both parties clinched 137 seats each, making the 2024 parliamentary elections crucial for both parties as they seek to clinch commanding majority in Parliament.
The Electoral Commission will from September 9 to September 13, 2024, receive nominations for the elections of President and Members of Parliament.
All aspirants are required to download and fill the nomination forms available on the Commission’s website.
The NPP’s nine-member Elections Verification Committee, chaired by Mr Frank Davies, has been tasked to probe the documents submitted by the parliamentary aspirants to ensure that all the candidates met the constitutional requirements as outlined in Article 94 of the 1992 Constitution.
The Committee, which commenced the screening on August 12, 2024, is expected to complete its work on August 16, 2024.
The NDC has also delegated its constituency elections secretariat to scrutinise all documents and ensure that all endorsements met the standards to avoid any irregularity that may affect the candidate and the Party at large.
Mr Mahdi Gibril, Deputy Director of Elections, NDC, told the Ghana News Agency on Monday that the Party had successfully downloaded its nomination forms from the EC’s website and was in the process of galvanising the required endorsements and documentations.
He said the various constituency elections secretariats had been equipped to scrutinise all relevant documents to ensure compliance with constitutional requirements before transferring to the national office for filing.
Mr Gibril said the NDC’s legal committee was actively involved in the exercise to ensure smooth filing of nomination forms.
“Lessons learnt from the past tell you what to do from each constituency. The Party already set up a committee to look at candidates who may have different documentation.
“We know the price you will pay if you do not do such things right,” he said.
GNA