Gary Nimako. (Photo Credit: Adomonline)
Gary Nimako, Director of Legal Affairs for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has publicly denounced NPP Members of Parliament who are running as independent candidates in the upcoming 2024 election.
According to a report by Adomonline on Saturday, October 26, 2024, by choosing to run independently, these MPs are essentially going against the party’s decision and potentially splitting votes that would otherwise go to the NPP’s officially nominated candidates.
Gary Al-Smith discussed the current state of Parliament on Joy News’ Newsfile today, October 26, Gary said, “For me, if you go into a primary and you lose, then decide that having lost the election, you want to run as an independent candidate against the party’s nominated candidate, to me, it’s unfair.”
Running as an independent candidate is seen as counterproductive to the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) and the government’s interests, particularly in addressing the vacant seats issue in Parliament.
Gary is wondering why some MPs would choose to run independently despite having the chance to participate in the 2024 party primaries without any issues.
He pointed out that despite potential disputes, only one case related to the primaries had been taken to court, highlighting that all parties had equal opportunities to participate in the process.
“We have been conducting primaries in the party, and after the primaries, we often face litigation in court, with several cases sometimes totaling 46 or even 30.
In fact, this year was the only time that the party held primaries with only one case in court. Everybody who participated in these primaries was given the full opportunity to take part freely,” he said.
Gary is disappointed that some NPP MPs are choosing to abandon the party’s ticket to contest the election on their own.
“It is not right, it is very very wrong, but that doesn’t mean that they also don’t have the right to stay in Parliament,” he stressed out.
A standoff is brewing in Parliament due to a dispute over the house composition after the Speaker deemed four seats vacant.
The Speaker’s ruling is currently uncertain due to a Supreme Court order, leading to a stalemate in parliament.
After MPs returned to the house and couldn’t agree on who holds the majority, the Speaker adjourned parliament indefinitely.