2011 National Democratic Congress presidential primaries

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) of Ghana is the ruling party of the country. The party was formed out of the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) before the 1992 Ghanaian presidential elections. The party opened nominations for election for the flag bearer of the party from 3 to 10 May 2011.[1] The party also scheduled 8 July 2011 as the date for the election. The purpose of the election will allow the party to select a flag bearer to represent the party in the 2012 Ghanaian presidential election.[1]

Criteria for picking up nomination

General qualification for aspirants

The party stated that candidates had to qualify under Article (62) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and, Article (44) of the Party’s constitution which states an aspirant had to be:[1]

  1. A citizen of Ghana.
  2. A member of a branch of the Party.
  3. A known and active member of the Party for not less than 4 years
  4. Not a member of any other Political Party
  5. An active and card bearing member of the Party with fully paid up membership dues.
  6. Accept the constitution, philosophy and policies of the Party
  7. Not facing any disciplinary action for breach of the Party’s Disciplinary Code and Constitution.
  8. Has qualified in terms of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to be elected as Member of Parliament and President of the Republic of Ghana.
  9. Is not a member of the executive committee at any level of the party at the time of the picking of his/her nomination form.

Electoral time table

The NEC has also, agreed on the following time table as part of arrangements for the congress;[1]

Date Activity
May 3, 2011 Opening of Nomination
May 10, 2011 Closing of Nomination
June 1, 2011 Submission of Nomination
June 7 – June 8, 2011 Vetting of Candidates
June 10, 2011 Release of Delegates Lists

Aspirants

On 2 May 2011, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings former first lady of Ghana, was the first person to pick up a form to seek the presidential nomination of the ruling party.[2] She is wife of Jerry John Rawlings. The sitting president of the country, John Atta Mills picked up his nomination form on the 5th of May, 2011.[3] On Tuesday, the 10th of May, 2011, A (NDC), Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah (a Vice-Chairman of the NDC) became the third and last person to pick up nomination forms to contest for the leadership of the party.[4] Dr Spio-Garbrah, is the CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) which is based in London.[4] If he contests the July 8 elections, it would be Dr Spio-Garbrah's second attempt at becoming the leader of the NDC, he had contested and lost the 2006 presidential primaries and lost to President Mills.[4]

Contestants

An aspirant becomes a contestants of the Presidential primaries upon the submission of the nomination form to the national secretariat of the party. On 30 May 2011, President John Mills submitted his nomination form making him the first candidate to contest the elections to be held on July 8, 2011.[5]

Results

On July 9, President John Mills won his party's nomination as presidential candidate for the 2010 Ghanaian presidential elections. He won 2,771 (96.9%) of the total votes cast. His challenger, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, wife of Jerry Rawlings, a former president of Ghana, polled just 90 (3.1%) of the votes.[6][7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "NDC Flagbearer aspirants to pay GH¢20,000 (update)". www.citifmonline.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  2. ↑ "Nana Konadu Agyemang takes first step to become NDC Presidential Candidate". www.ghanatoghana.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  3. ↑ "President Mills to pick nomination forms today". www.news.myjoyonline.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-08. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  4. 1 2 3 "Spio-Garbrah picks NDC nomination forms". www.news.myjoyonline.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  5. ↑ "President Mills files nomination". www.news.myjoyonline.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-02. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  6. ↑ "Mills beats Konadu, 2,771 votes against 90=". Daily Graphic Online, Ghana. 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  7. ↑ "Mills 2,771 votes, Konadu only 90". MyJoyOnline. 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
  8. ↑ "Mills bashes Konadu - 2,771 votes to 90". Ghana Home Page. 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
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