A legal tussle, tagged as novel, has emerged in the Central Tongu Constituency of the Volta Region ahead of the December 7, 2024, presidential and parliamentary elections.
The case, according to private legal practitioner Oliver Barker-Vormawor, is between his client, Dramani Selorm Nudokpor Dzramado, who the National Democratic Congress has sued for endorsing the party’s flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama.
According to the lawyer, the NDC is unhappy with his client’s decision to mount billboards bearing his image as a parliamentary candidate and that of the NDC flagbearer as a presidential candidate.
“This morning, I am home in Sogakope. At 9 am, I will be appearing at the Sogakope Circuit Court to represent a client in a frankly bizarre and interesting case. It’s the funniest case if you ask me. But it also presents some of the most novel legal issues I have ever seen in an election cycle anywhere.
“My client, Dramani Selorm Nudokpo Dzramado, is standing as an independent candidate to represent the Central Tongu Constituency as an MP. This is an NDC stronghold. The NDC has sued him for endorsing John Dramani Mahama as President. Selorm mounted billboards with himself as an independent MP candidate and John Mahama as a presidential candidate,” the lawyer and activist shared in a Facebook post on Monday, November 11, 2024.
According to Barker-Vormawor, his client believes he is at liberty to endorse any candidate of his choosing, but the NDC, who are not happy with the endorsement, are asking a court to stop Dzramado from endorsing their flagbearer.
“He says he is not a presidential candidate, and nothing stops him from endorsing a candidate of his choice. But the NDC is not happy. So they have brought an action against him to stop him from endorsing Mahama,” the lawyer wrote.
Amidst internal party disputes, some political parties are grappling with independent candidates in various constituencies ahead of the December 7 polls.
While the opposition NDC and ruling New Patriotic Party have enjoyed stable control of Ghana’s parliament in the last few elections, an independent candidate emerged in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
Andrew Amoako Asiamah of the Fomena Constituency left the New Patriotic Party to contest the 2020 elections as an independent candidate and won the seat despite his seat being vacated ahead of the election. His seat proved vital in the composition of the current Parliament as both the NPP and NDC acquired 136 seats each after the 2020 elections.
He has, however, decided to contest the December 7, 2024, election on the ticket of the NPP.
