A total of 689 aspirants of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) filed to contest in the November 7 primaries when filing of nominations closed on Thursday.
This excludes figures from the Ashanti Region, which had the closing date extended.
[contextly_sidebar id=”5j6X8MB5RBS2wjTcTpXd25r2KtVYQkYG”]Speaking at a press briefing in Accra, the General Secretary of the party Johnson Asiedu Nketia also said, 19 people filed as sole candidates going unopposed.
He also said as of close of nominations, only one person, President John Mahama had filed as presidential nominee and that though unopposed, “we will still go through the elections to ensure that more than fifty percent approve of his nomination.”
Some sitting MPs including Ebo Barton Oduro, Matthias Puozaa and Ben Kumbour had not filed.
George Kofi Arthur, Amenfi Central MP could also not file even though he was trying as of Thursday night to do so.
According to Asiedu Nketia nine (9) aspirants from other regions also filed their nominations at the party’s headquarters in Accra.
He explained that the move was to avoid the extra fees that were being charged by some regional executives of the party contrary to the directives of the national executive committee.
The NDC’s General Secretary said the aspirants who filed at the headquarters will not be disadvantaged in any way.
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By: Raymond Acquah/citifmonline.com/Ghana