The two, Peter Assibi Kaayir and Hajia Bintu Alhassan, were expelled for endorsing the nomination form of the incumbent Member of Parliament for Lawra, Samson Abu, who has also been expelled from the party for contesting the 2016 elections as an independent candidate.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9WhHwp8gviyUuLzImB06DE2i1MKvVil3″]A statement signed by the party’s Constituency Chairman, Joshua Lotaa, said the two have also been openly campaigning for Mr. Abu ahead of the polls.

The dismissal of the two follows the NDC National Executive Commission’s (NEC) expulsion of some 23 disgruntled members who are contesting the elections as independent parliamentary candidates.

A statement signed by the General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, said the decision was taken because the candidates per their actions have breached the party’s constitution.

The two breached party’s constitution

The Lawra NDC in its statement also justified their sacking of these two individuals saying, “the conduct of these persons is in breach of articles 45 ad 46 of the party’s constitution. Accordingly and in line with directives issued by the General Secretary, the two persons have ceased to be members of the party with immediate effect.”

The statement added that “they are therefore no longer executive members of the party and cannot hold themselves out as such. They are to return all party property in their possession to the Constituency Chairman.”

Speaking in a subsequent interview with Citi News, Mr. Lotaa confirmed that the party expelled the two because of their allegiance to the current MP, Sampson Abu.

“Once you don’t go by the party law or the party rules, we don’t allow you to be here. Go ahead and have your independence and continue do for you candidate whatever you want. But let’s have our peace of mind to work for our candidate.”

“We have tried to solve these problems and yet they decide to go ahead to do what they want… we don’t need to come back again looking for you and begging you to come back and work for the party,” Mr. Lotta said.

Samson Abu ordered to return party van

Meanwhile, Mr. Abu has been ordered to return a party van in his possession.

A seperate statement said, “following your decision to run as an independent candidate and in compliance with the press statement issued by the General Secretary on 1^st November 2016, we request the immediate return of the party’s van with registration No. GB2786-12 which has been in your custody since November 2012.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post 2 NDC members expelled for endorsing independent candidate appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Samson Abu, the incumbent MP for the area on the ticket of the NDC, left the party after his narrow defeat in the NDC primary where he lost to Bede Ziedeng by 14 votes.

In a letter signed by Upper West Regional EC  Director, Azu Bosco Anyigire, the EC explained to Samson Abu that the similarity of his colours to that of the NDC is in breach of the law.

“I humbly wish to inform you that your colours as an independent candidate are similar to that of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). This is a breach of the law and I advise that you change your colours with immediate effect.”

“The Commission will apply all sanctions if you fail to comply,” the letter added.

Following Samson Abu’s defeat at the primary, his camp leveled allegations against Bede Ziedeng, accusing him of manipulating the voter’s register to his advantage.

Though Bede Ziedeng denied the accusations, attempts by the NDC hierarchy to mend the rift between the two proved futile, as Samson Abu eventually presented his nomination forms to EC to contest as an independent candidate.

This turn of events has presented the New Patriotic Party (NPP) its best chance to win the seat with its aspirant for the area, Anthony Abayifaa Karbo, looking to take advantage of the the anticipated split votes between the Samson Abu and Bede Ziedeng.

Follow the hashtag #GhElections on Social Media for election related stories

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Lawra independent candidate asked to change his NDC colours appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.