The Member of Parliament for Amenfi Central, Peter Kwakye-Ackah, says he holds no ill will towards the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and is willing to collaborate ahead of the December polls.
This follows the Electoral Commission’s disqualification of the current NDC parliamentary candidate, Joana Cudjoe due to a pending interlocutory injunction against her.
According to the now-independent candidate, Mr Kwakye-Ackah insists he is willing to collaborate with the party to forge an alliance to win power in the 2024 election despite the development.
“I believe that we can collaborate. There is no need to stretch this matter at all. Sometimes certain things happen for good,” he said on Joy FM‘s Newsnight after the announcement on Wednesday.
“Now I have filed as an independent, but I can stand in as a candidate for the NDC,” he added.
He was responding to accusations by the NDC Deputy General Secretary that Peter Kwakye-Ackah is holding the party ransom for his parochial interest leading to the EC’s decision.
“When you fictitiously go behind accusing party leadership of masterminding your removal, I think it is sickening and it shouldn’t be entertained by anybody. Kwakye cannot hold the party to ransom, because the party made him,” he said.
Background
Mrs Cudjoe’s disqualification follows a petition to the EC claiming that there is a pending order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Commission from recognising her as the Parliamentary Candidate of the party.
The EC ordered that “until the final determination of the matter the affected parties are restrained as follows: a) The 1. Defendant/Respondent for holding herself out as the duly elected NDC Parliamentary candidate for the Amenfi Central Constituency.”
This was contained in a letter from the EC’s Deputy Chairman of Operations, Samuel Tettey.
The petitioners were doubting the authenticity of the candidate’s voter identification.
After a successful filing of nomination forms by the candidate, Joana Gyan Cudjoe who was re-elected by delegates following an annulment of primaries conducted earlier this year.
The Parliamentary Candidate had to run in the party’s parliamentary primaries for the second time after the party at the national level nullified her nomination.
A statement signed by General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey noted that the election had been the subject of litigation at the High Court in Sekondi, hence the annulment.
But the candidate in a fresh primary was re-elected by popular acclamation.
In the October 16 letter, the EC explained that the said court order “has neither been stayed nor vacated hence the Commission is bound by same.”
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