A New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary aspirant for the Yendi Constituency, Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama, has petitioned the party leadership to declare the election held last Saturday null and void.
She is also requesting NEC to prohibit the incumbent MP, Farouk Aliu Mahama from holding himself as the parliamentary candidate-elect.
Hajia Abibata, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) re-contested Mr Mahama after losing in 2020.
The just-ended election was generally smooth except for the confusion that broke out during the counting process with ballots destroyed and properties vandalised.
In a petition, she claims that some party officers conspired with Mr Mahama to rig the elections, thereby declaring him as the winner and has called for sanctions to be imposed.
“The key actors in the ploy included Alhaji Masawudu Osman (3rd National Vice Chairman), Alhaji Salifu Rashid C.O.P., the Northern Regional Organiser, Alhaji YussifToyibu, the Regional Treasurer, Mr. Fusheini Bawah Kpana, the regional Research and Elections Officer, Mr. Mohammed Adam Bantima Samba, the Northern Regional Chairman, some members of the Party Elections Committee, some officers of the Electoral Commission and the Security Service,” the petition read in parts.
In view of this, she has asked the party to order for fresh elections to be conducted and supervised by competent, independent, and sincere Electoral Commission, party and security officers.
Meanwhile, the EC has said no winner was declared in the polls despite the incumbent’s insistence of being the victor.
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Read below the petition by Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama
PETITION OVER THE CONDUCT OF THE 2024 NPP PARLIAMENTARY PRIMARIES IN THE YENDI CONSTITUENCY
Respectfully, I write to bring the following critical issues concerning the chaotic conduct of the failed New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Primaries of the Yendi Constituency held on Saturday, the 27th of January 2024 at the Yendi Senior High School for your urgent attention and redress.
By the Parliamentary Primaries Protocols for Incumbent Members of Parliament of the NPP issued by the Party on the 22nd of January 2024 with reference number NPP/HQ/PR/2024/01/22/GS/PP, the Party mandated the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) to supervise the Parliamentary Primaries and granted the Commission with the full responsibility for ensuring transparent, free and fair elections.
That by the same protocols, the Party further prohibited party officials, government appointees, and other persons from acting in contravention of the Electoral Commission and the Guidelines referred supra.
The Yendi Constituency Parliamentary Primaries had two contestants – Hon. Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama, the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), and Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama (Petitioner herein).
There appears to be a grand ploy by some officers of the party to conspire with election officers and the incumbent MP to rig the elections in favour of the incumbent MP against the established democratic tradition of our great party, and the wishes of the delegates and the members of the party in Yendi.
The key actors in the ploy included Alhaji Masawudu Osman (3rd National Vice Chairman), Alhaji Salifu Rashid C.O.P., the Northern Regional Organiser, Alhaji YussifToyibu, the Regional Treasurer, Mr. Fusheini Bawah Kpana, the regional Research and Elections Officer, Mr. Mohammed Adam Bantima Samba, the Northern Regional Chairman, some members of the Party Elections Committee, some officers of the Electoral Commission and the Security Service.
On the Election Day, Saturday, 27th January 2024, voting started freely, fairly, and transparently. Voting ended at around 12:30 pm and they started sorting ballots at 2PM.
A cursory look at the sorted and compiled ballot papers for each aspirant showed that I obtained the highest number of votes and was anticipating a declaration to that effect after due process had been complied with.
It must be noted that the Regional and National Officers who had a grand agenda to rig the elections massed up at the collation to block our views and cover up their ploy.
In pursuit of the grand agenda to rig the elections, an officer of the EC (Regional Storekeeper) tainted his fingers with indelible ink and was touching the sorted ballots (yet to be counted) in favour of me to taint them with a malicious intention of having them compromised and reclassified as rejected ballots.
Further, whilst the counting of the ballots of Hon. Farouk Aliu Mahama was ongoing, the same EC Officer, picked the sorted, yet-to-be-counted ballots papers in favour of me and pocketed them. However, luck alluded him and he was caught red-handed.
A member of my team went to complain to the Police and get the pocketed ballots removed from the pocket of the said EC Officer.
The ink pad used to taint my valid votes was also retrieved. Despite the obstruction by some party officers at the scene, the pocketed ballot papers were also retrieved.
By this time, ballots counted in favour of the incumbent MP, Hon. Farouk Aliu Mahama were around 213 with approximately less than 100 ballots yet to be counted in his favour.
Sensing the danger that the incumbent MP was losing the elections, the supporters of the MP fetched my uncounted ballots, scattered them, and destroyed a significant number of them.
This act infuriated my supporters who also picked the counted and uncounted ballots of the MP and scattered same with some destroyed.
The ballot papers were all scattered; a significant number were destroyed, and some were taken away from the scene. The EC did not have the ballot papers to re-sort or count. Appendices A, B, C, D, E, F and G are videos and pictorial evidence of destruction of uncounted ballots.
It was practically impossible for valid votes or ballot papers to be identified or re-sorted and counted as some party members made away with them and some were destroyed. The EC lost control of the election process and materials were damaged.
The Electoral Commission team from Yendi to conduct the elections were; The Municipal EC Director (Madam Millicent), Iddrisu Yussif (Returning Officer), Issah Mohammed Saani (Name Reference List Officer), Alhassan Osman (Ballot Issuer) and other two supporting staff.
The Electoral commission also brought the EC Directors from Saboba and Kpandai, a deputy director from Sagnarigu district, Regional Technician and Regional Stores who worked hand-in-hand with the Yendi EC team.
Meanwhile all elections in Yendi Constituency including the recent NPP Presidential Primaries were conducted by only the team without any problems.
The EC officer (Regional Stores) who maliciously destroyed and pocketed some valid votes sorted in my favour was arrested amid the chaos and sent to the Yendi Police Station.
The Divisional Police Commander for Yendi Division was asked to man the main gate which is far from the elections centre whiles the Regional Police Commander and his team took over the elections centre.
Meanwhile all previous elections including the recent NPP Presidential Primaries were all manned by the Divisional Police Commander and his team and it was very successful.
I went to the Yendi Police Station to make an official complaint about the situation in anticipation that the relevant bodies would take up the matter and deal with the culprits whose actions resulted in the chaos.
Later in the night, the information I received confirmed that the 3rd National Vice Chairman, the Northern Regional Chairman, the Northern Regional Organizer, the incumbent MP, the Regional and Divisional Police Commanders, and the EC Officers held a meeting at the Yendi Police Station purporting to resolve the matter.
Neither I nor my agents were invited to the meeting. Some of my supporters who got a hint of the information followed up at the Police Station and were denied access to the meeting by the Police Officers.
The failure of the Police, the EC Officers, National and Regional Party Officers to invite me or allow my agents access to the meeting purporting to resolve the issue was in clear violation of the rules of natural justice. Consequently, any decision arising thereof which affects my interest ought to be declared invalid and of no effect.
On the night of 27th of January, 2024, we saw a video taken at the Yendi Police Station in which the 3rd National Vice Chairman, Alhaji Masawudu Osman in the company of the Northern Regional Chairman and his team, and some Constituency Executives, purportedly declared Hon. Farouk Aliu Mahama as the winner without the appropriate authority, or recourse to any counting of ballots or any due process of law, and in clear violation of the guidelines issued by the party on the 22nd of January 2024.
In view of the foregoing, I respectfully request the National Executive Committee to: a) Hold that NPP Parliamentary Primaries of the Yendi Constituency held in Yendi on the 27th of January 2024 were tainted with substantial irregularities, violations, infractions and therefore lost its validity.
(b) Declare that the 2024 NPP Parliamentary Primaries of the Yendi Constituency held in Yendi on the 27th of January 2024 as null, void and of no effect whatsoever.
(c) Declare that under the Parliamentary Primaries Protocols for Incumbent Members of Parliament of the NPP issued on the 22nd of January 2024 with reference number NPP/HQ/PR/2024/01/22/GS/PP, the only body mandated to conduct and declare results of the 2024 Parliamentary Primaries of the Yendi Constituency is the Electoral Commission of Ghana.
(d) Declare that neither the 3rd Vice Chairman, Alhaji Masawudu Osman, nor any party executive, party officer, nor any government appointee has the mandate to conduct or declare results or winner of the NPP Parliamentary Primaries of the Yendi Constituency held on the 27th of January 2024.
(e) Declare that the purported declaration of Hon. Farouk Aliu Mahama by Alhaji Masawudu Osman (3rd National Vice Chairman) as the winner of the 2024 NPP Parliamentary Primaries for Yendi Constituency on the 27th of January 2024 is null, void and of no effect whatsoever and he as a National Officer should be sanctioned for disregarding party protocols.
(f) The Regional Party Officers who were also involved in the misconducts should be sanctioned.
(g) All EC officers who were complicit in the process should be sanctioned by the EC.
h) Make an order prohibiting the incumbent Member of Parliament, Hon. Farouk Aliu Mahama from holding himself as the Parliamentary Candidate (PC) Elect of the Yendi Constituency for the 2024 Elections.
( i) Order for fresh elections to be conducted and supervised by competent, independent, and sincere Electoral Commission Officers, Party Officers, and Security Officers.
( j) Make any other order(s) as the party may deem fit under the circumstance. I respectfully submit above trusting that the leadership of the party will act decisively and in the greater interest of our enviable party for justice and true democratic credentials of our party to prevail over all other interests. God bless our homeland Ghana and our great New Patriotic Party.
Thank you.
Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama
NPP Parliamentary Aspirant,
2024 Yendi Constituency