The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has reaffirmed that government appointees must resign from their positions before contesting the party’s upcoming executive elections.
The party said its long-standing directive remains in force and will be strictly enforced, meaning only individuals who are no longer serving in government roles will be eligible to file nominations and participate in the internal elections.
According to the NDC, although there have been reports that some government appointees have resigned, the party headquarters has not yet received official notifications from most of them.
It explained that the eligibility of all prospective candidates will be determined during the nomination, filing and vetting process, where proof of resignation and other qualification requirements will be verified.
The party, however, confirmed that some officials have already stepped down from their positions, including the Eastern Regional Chairman, the Eastern Regional Communications Officer, and Leland Tay, who is contesting for the National Chairman position.
The directive is expected to affect several government officials who may be considering contesting for executive positions while still holding public office, as the party has ruled out any special exemptions from the resignation requirement.
Speaking in an interview, the NDC’s Acting IT Director, Jibril Mahdi, said government appointees who remain in office would automatically be disqualified from contesting the elections.
“Whoever is in office is not qualified to contest our elections,” he said.
Mr Mahdi added that the party headquarters had not officially received resignation notices from most of the individuals reported to have stepped down.
“Officially, we have not received any notice from anybody that has resigned. Whatever we are hearing is based on the social media information because, at party headquarters, we are not the appointing authority,” he said.
He further stressed that the party had not received any requests for exemptions, insisting:
“For now, whoever is still in office is automatically ineligible to contest as it stands.”
The NDC is continuing its internal electoral calendar after completing its branch-level elections, with preparations now underway for the next phase of the party’s executive elections.
