Ghana: NPP internal election chaos continues

The NPP’s election vetting committee has allowed businessman and founding member of the NPP, Paul Afoko, to continue campaigning to run for the party’s national chairmanship, but continues to suspend his vetting process.

The NPP internal election chaos is continuing because, according to party insiders, although the party’s national chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey and General Secretary Kwadwo “Sir John” Owusu Afriyie continue to be the frontrunners for their respective party offices, both men are facing significant opposition at next month’s expensive party congress at the Northern Region city of Tamale. 

On the plus side, the party’s vetting committee has softened one major controversy by allowing one of Obetsebi-Lamptey’s opponents, the businessman Paul Afoko, to continue campaigning after, as we have reported in previous issues, it had earlier suspended investigations into his fitness to run following receipt of a non-attributable allegation over his alleged past wrongdoing.

Nevertheless, according to NPP elections director Martin Adjei Mensah, the vetting committee is still investigating Afoko’s suspension but has allowed him to continue campaigning for the present until a decision is taken. This has led Afoko to again voice his disappointment while campaigning in Upper West Region that the committee will not reveal the name of the party member who suggested that he had served a prison sentence in the UK for fraud.

Given that the other three other candidates for the post of national chairman have all been cleared by the vetting committee, Afoko may indeed be campaigning at a disadvantage.

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

© 2014 Menas Associates

Mauritania: Election developments

Mauritania continues its roller-coaster ride towards legislative and municipal elections on 23 November, with still no certainty as to whether they will be held or postponed. The first talks in four years between the government and 11-party Co-ordination of Democratic Opposition (COD) began on Monday 30 September but broke up after two days.

Speaking shortly after the break-up, the COD's (rotating) president, Mohamed Ould Mouloud (above), said the two sides disagreed on a number of issues, including the suggestion by the ruling party that the polls be postponed by 15 days, and the opposition's demand that the ruling party's unilateral agenda be suspended in a bid to reach a political agreement to create an environment in which to organise free, democratic and transparent elections. During the two days of talks, the parties also discussed the organisation and monitoring of the polls as well as the impartiality of the State's institutions in the electoral process.

 

The fundamental sticking point between the two was that the COD wanted the polls postponed until April 2014 to allow time to prepare a full voter census and electoral role. The COD also wanted guarantees of the independence of the CENI electoral commission.

 

On Thursday 3 October, the communications minister said there was a possibility that talks with the opposition might resume. However, on the following day, the COD announced that 10 of its 11 member parties had decided to boycott the elections, with only the Tawassoul party agreeing to participate.

 

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

 

© 2013 Menas Associates