The National Executive Committee(NEC) of the New Patriotic Party(NPP) has postponed the rerun of the Walewale parliamentary primaries to Monday, September 9, 2024.
The change is due to the seven-day funeral rites of the late paramount chief of the Wungu traditional area, Nazori Alhaji Saaka Sulemana, slated for September 8, 2024.
Initially, Sunday, September 8, 2024, was scheduled for the rerun in the constituency.
This was contained in a statement signed and released by the party’s General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong.
The process will start at 7:00 am and end at 2:00 pm.
Currently, NEC has vetted and cleared two aspirants to contest.
The two parliamentary aspirants include Dr. Mahama Tia Kabiru and the incumbent Member of Parliament(MP) Hajia Lariba Zuwera Abudu who contested in the previous primaries that the Tamale High Court annulled.
The two candidates have maintained their positions on the ballot as they appeared in the previous election annulled by the Tamale High Court earlier this week.
The rerun is necessitated by the nullification of the earlier election by the Tamale High Court.
In the earlier primaries held on January 27, 2024, Dr. Tiah Abdul-Kabiru, a 35-year-old special advisor to the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, fiercely contested the incumbent Member of Parliament, Hajia Lariba and others.
The election, which took place under stringent security measures and was attended by regional and constituency executives, resulted in a victory for Dr. Kabiru with 345 votes, compared to the sitting Member of Parliament (MP), Hajia Lariba Zuweratu’s 338 votes.
In the primary, two other candidates, Tahiru Sham-Una and Jangdoo Mahama, received 145 and 1 vote, respectively.
However, Hajia Lariba challenged the election results and lodged an ex parte motion at the Tamale High Court, accusing the party, Dr Kabiru, and the Electoral Commission of irregularities and misconduct.
Initially, the NPP, as a third defendant, sought to have the case dismissed, alleging that Hajia Lariba had breached the party’s constitution by refusing to utilise internal conflict resolution mechanisms before resorting to the court.
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Consequently, the Tamale High Court granted a plea by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to resolve the issues related to the Walewale constituency parliamentary primary out of court.
The NPP noted that settling the case out of court would be the best way to sustain peace and unity in the party ahead of the 2024 general elections and pledged to return to the court for a final verdict.
However, the parties involved could not agree on an amicable solution, prompting the court to settle the matter.