Former Finance Minister, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, believes that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is not ready to conduct free and fair elections during the primaries on Saturday.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday evening, Dr Duffuor stated that although the party had promised to address his concerns and the discrepancies with the voters register at a meeting with the Council of Elders, they are yet to do so.
He stated that the party leadership had promised to involve the technical team of all candidates in the flagbearership race to address the issues after he withdrew the suit filed against it.
However, Dr Duffuor noted that “Despite the assurances given to myself and my team by the Chairman of the Party, the executives of the party, in an act of complete and unacceptable breach of faith, went ahead to convene a press conference announcing that the elections would go ahead tomorrow, without having resolved the concerns surrounding the voters register as decided at the meeting of the Council of Elders.”
He said that the party has begun distributing the ballot papers to the various regions and constituencies without his team’s involvement ahead of the elections on Saturday.
This, he stated, contributed to his decision to withdraw from the elections, adding that he cannot compete when the party’s election preparations concerning the register is saddled with flaws.
“My concerns that the party is not ready to conduct a free and fair election is evident for all to see. Taking part in such would be akin to knowingly drinking from a poisoned calabash. I cannot contest in an election which is blatantly fraught with irregularities regardless of all my efforts to draw attention to same.”
Dr Duffour thanked his supporters assuring them that despite his decision he will continue to connect with the grassroots for the betterment of the party.
