A Regional Executive of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have admitted claims that the party’s vetting Committee was fully aware that Dr. Zanetor Rawlings was not registered voter on the Electoral Commission roll as at the time she filed and contested for the NDC parliamentary primaries elections last November.
The Regional Organizer of the party, Anthony Nukpenu who made this startling disclosure to Richard Dela Sky on Cities FM last week explained the vetting committee did not disqualify Dr. Zanetor Rawlings because she satisfied the party’s requirement, adding that being a registered voter was not part of the party’s requirements for persons seeking to run on the party’s ticket to Parliament.
When asked by Richard Sky how the party intend to present a candidate who was not a registered voter for the November 2016 elections, Anthony Nukpenu said she can register in March during the limited registration exercise by the electoral commission.
However, a document containing the guidelines for the NDC parliamentary primaries in 2015 sighted by this reporter states among other things, a person shall not qualify to contest for parliament if the person does not satisfy the requirements of Article 94 1a of the 1992 constitution. It also states that a person seeking to run for office of Member of Parliament must be a registered voter.
These contradictions by the party’s executives has sparked speculations that the vetting committee of the party flaunted the rules and guidelines of their parliamentary primaries in order to unduly favour Dr. Zanetor Rawlings who is first daughter of founder of the NDC, JJ Rawlings.
A series of actions have been taken by persons in the party who seem aggrieved by the anomaly of presenting a candidate who did not qualify to run for the elections in the very beginning per the rules of the NDC Parliamentary primaries held in November 2015. A petition, signed by over 100 youth of the party was sent to JJ Rawlings seeking him to counsel his daughter to step down as Parliamentary candidate to protect his integrity and that of the party.
Currently, Nii John Coleman and Nii Armah Ashietey, MP for Klottey Korle who contested Dr. Zanetor Rawlings last November feel shortchanged are in court seeking for the election to be declared null and void.
Meanwhile many people in Klottey Korle constituency are on tenterhooks to see how the judiciary will handle the case since all the powers that be within the party seem to be bending the rules for the daughter of the ex President.
Many are also eager to see how the electoral commission will testify in court and how they will generally handle the matter since their credibility has been called into question by the opposition.
[email protected] 
(Selorm) | 
(Nana Kwesi)