{"id":102976,"date":"2025-11-12T11:05:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T11:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102976"},"modified":"2025-11-12T11:05:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T11:05:25","slug":"npp-external-branch-delegates-petition-party-over-ban-on-proxy-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102976","title":{"rendered":"NPP external branch delegates petition party over ban on proxy voting"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 41 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Chairpersons and delegates of the New Patriotic Party\u2019s (NPP) 30 external branches have filed a petition challenging a directive from the party\u2019s Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) banning proxy voting in the upcoming presidential primary.<\/p>\n

The petition, dated November 10, was addressed to the Chairman of the National Executive Committee (NEC) through the General Secretary. It argues that the PEC\u2019s decision, announced on 6th November 2025, violates the NPP\u2019s constitution and effectively disenfranchises members living outside Ghana.<\/p>\n

According to the petitioners, the PEC \u201clacks constitutional authority to unilaterally alter or prohibit proxy voting,\u201d noting that the party\u2019s constitution gives that power to the National Executive Committee \u201cin consultation with the National Council.\u201d <\/p>\n

They argue that the decision \u201cemanating solely from the PEC without satisfying the constitutional provision is ultra vires and void.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group explained that proxy voting has long been a recognised practice that enables external branch delegates who cannot be physically present to participate in presidential and national executive elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy established practice and precedent, delegates of external branches who are unable to be physically present during primaries have consistently exercised their franchise through proxy voting,\u201d the petition noted.<\/p>\n

They further stated that the directive \u201ceffectively excludes and disenfranchises delegates from the external branches in the forthcoming presidential primary,\u201d stressing that Article 8 of the NPP Constitution expressly recognises the role and rights of external branches.<\/p>\n

The petitioners described the ban as \u201ca breach of legitimate expectation,\u201d adding that proxy voting \u201chas been the norm or a convention in presidential primaries.\u201d They argued that abolishing it abruptly \u201cwithout reasonable and cogent justification violates principles of natural justice and fairness\u201d and breaches Article 23 of Ghana\u2019s 1992 Constitution, which demands administrative fairness.<\/p>\n

They also cited the Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574), and Section 9 of the Political Parties Act, which requires internal party operations to comply with democratic principles. The ban, they said, \u201cmakes it practically impossible for a whole class of accredited delegates from external branches to vote,\u201d describing the decision as \u201cundemocratic and arbitrary.\u201d<\/p>\n

The petition revealed that the Chairpersons\u2019 Caucus of External Branches had earlier submitted a proposal to the PEC on November 3, suggesting alternative voting methods that would be \u201caccessible, cost-effective, and democratic.\u201d <\/p>\n

However, the PEC \u201cneither responded to this constructive proposal nor engaged the Caucus in dialogue,\u201d before proceeding with the ban.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision, without providing an alternative mechanism, effectively disenfranchises a vital constituency of the party\u2019s global membership and undermines inclusiveness and democratic integrity,\u201d the petition said.<\/p>\n

The petitioners also expressed concern about the financial and logistical burden placed on delegates living abroad, estimating that each delegate would need to spend about USD 3,000 on travel and accommodation to vote in person. \u201cThis makes participation extremely difficult and, for many, impossible,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

They further noted that proxy voting has always been part of Ghana\u2019s wider electoral process, including in national elections managed by the Electoral Commission, and therefore should not be abandoned within the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe removal of proxy voting without providing a workable alternative overlooks the operational realities of external branches and effectively denies us the means to exercise our legitimate right to vote,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

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\"NPPChairpersons and delegates of the New Patriotic Party\u2019s (NPP) 30 external branches have filed a petition challenging a directive from the party\u2019s Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) banning proxy voting in the upcoming presidential primary.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11929,12377,1900,1883,117,1881,10,9,12378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ban","category-external-branch-delegates","category-hp-news-2","category-national","category-news","category-npp","category-politics","category-popular","category-proxy-voting"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=102976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102976\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=102976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=102976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}