Madam Laraba Zuweira Abdul, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Walewale in the North East region, has withdrawn from the party’s controversial parliamentary primaries in the constituency.
The decision follows the latest round of confusion that has engulfed the NPP in the Walewale constituency, as the party races against time to nominate a parliamentary candidate and submit same by the EC’s deadline on Friday.
The former Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, who made the announcement earlier in a press release, later addressed the media following her decision to quit the race.
The Walewale election re-run was held after the initial election was annulled due to irregularities.
In January, Dr. Kabiru Mahama narrowly defeated the incumbent Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu in the tightly contested primary. The election saw Dr Kabiru winning with 345 votes against Hajia Lariba’s 338 votes.
Unsatisfied with the outcome, Hajia Lariba Abudu headed to court to challenge the results, citing electoral irregularities and malpractice.
The Tamale High Court last week annulled the results and ordered a re-run.
However, the re-run was not without controversy, as a culprit was arrested for disrupting the sorting and counting process.
Following the disruption of the ballot sorting, which led to the destruction of some ballot papers, the Electoral Commission (EC) declared the Monday voting as null and void and referred the decision to the NPP to decide on the way forward since it was an internal party event to select a nominee to contest the December parliamentary election on the ticket of the party.
At a press briefing on Tuesday to shed more light on the issue and what the next steps are for the party, Justin Frimpong Kodua, the General Secretary of the NPP, affirmed that the matter will be addressed by the party’s hierarchy, who will meet on Wednesday to deliberate on the matter.
The NPP Gen Sec also commended the Ghana Police Service for their swift action in arresting the individual and for their professional oversight throughout the electoral process, emphasizing that the party remains committed to fully supporting the Ghana Police Service in their efforts to investigate and resolve the matter without any obstruction thoroughly.
The party has also called on its members, particularly those in Walewale, to remain calm as the party works to resolve the impasse.
In a related development, the NPP has announced measures to facilitate the registration of party members at the constituency and regional levels to boost the membership of the party.
The Gen. Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong announced the measures at the press conference.
Gen.
