A photo collage of Haruna Mohammed and Nana Akua Afriyie

The Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, (NPP) Haruna Mohammed, has disclosed that the party’s parliamentary candidate for the Ablekuma North Constituency defied a clear directive from the National Executive Committee (NEC) not to participate in the rerun held on Friday, July 11, 2025.

In an interview on Channel One TV’s "The Big Issue" on Saturday, July 12, 2024, Haruna explained that the party had initially filed a legal challenge over the December 2024 election results, maintaining that it had won and therefore saw no need to contest a rerun.

He explained that the decision to boycott the election was collectively agreed upon at a NEC meeting, where the candidate herself was present and contributed to the discussions.

“She did not tell us. We saw her running. When she was invited to NEC, everybody spoke, she spoke, we all spoke. Even on Tuesday, if you check the press conference, she was part of the panel. She was sitting in when the NEC’s non-participation decision was announced. The reason we are not participating is that we won the election,” he said.

Haruna Mohammed also pointed out that the Electoral Commission failed to officially notify the party through the usual communication channels.

“They did not send any letter to us,” he said, adding that the announcement of the rerun was made publicly without formal engagement.

The defiance, Haruna noted, has raised serious concerns within the party’s leadership, particularly as other senior members also supported the unexpected participation.

“The party is very concerned,” he stressed.

The NPP had earlier announced a boycott of the rerun following a High Court order for the EC to conduct a rerun in 19 polling stations.

The directive came after months of disputes on pink sheets from the December 2024 general election.

Despite the party’s official position, its 2024 parliamentary candidate, Nana Akua Afriyie, defied the boycott.

Aubynn secured 34,090 votes, while her closest contender, Nana Akua, polled 33,881 votes, bringing closure to months of political uncertainty.

JKB/EB

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