update: Bagbin, Atubiga, Sly pick forms

NDC flagbearer aspirants Alban Bagbin, Stephen Atubiga and Sylvester Mensah have also picked forms to contest the presidential primaries of the party.

It brings the number of candidates who have so far picked forms to contest the race to five after former President John Mahama and Professor Joshua Alabi picked theirs earlier.

All three candidates had earlier indicated they were not going to pick the form in protest of the staggering amount of filing fee that has been set by the party executives.

Mr. Bagbin had earlier said he was not going to pick the forms despite a today’s deadline.



His reasons were that picking the forms will mean condoning illegality since the newly elected national executives of the NDC sidestepped the party’s Council of Elders in deciding the guidelines for the flagbearer contest.

“We believe that the process that they have put in place is offending a number of our values, principles and even the provisions of our constitution…and so we have put that across and we are awaiting the response of the Council of elders,” the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament cum flagbearer hopeful told Starr News’ Regina Borley Bortey Tuesday.

“There’s a legal issue there. A legal issue that we believe has rendered all the process null and void. It is very clear in our constitution that the guidelines for the flagbearership race will have to be done in consultation with the Council of elders.

“We know that. And so, if you don’t do that and you proceed to do what you know is unlawful it means that all that process is null and void.

“And that’s the difficulty in going to pick the forms because we ourselves will be participating in an unlawful process. That’s the main reason why I am not picking the forms,” he added.

Source:Starrfmonline.com