An aspirant for the position of National Democratic Congress (NDC) General Secretary, Stephen Donkor, has sued the party and the Chairperson of its Congress Elections Committee, Mahdi Gibrill, over his exclusion from the list of successful nominees for the position.
In a writ of summons filed at the High Court in Accra on November 10, 2026, Mr Donkor is challenging the decision to exclude him from the internal election, arguing that the circumstances surrounding the interruption of his online nomination process were not fairly considered.
According to his statement of claim, the NDC prescribed a filing fee of GH¢80,000 for aspirants and required them to complete their nomination processes through an online portal.
Mr Donkor says he paid the prescribed fee and successfully uploaded his nomination documents before discovering on the evening of November 6, 2026, that his portal login credentials had been changed without his knowledge or consent.
He claims the development deprived him of access to his nomination account and prevented him from retrieving and completing Forms A and C.
The plaintiff says he promptly reported the issue to the party’s Elections Directorate and IT Department before personally appearing before the Congress Elections Committee on November 7 to seek assistance.
He further states that, despite the unresolved technical difficulties, he submitted his available nomination documents to the committee on November 9, together with a petition seeking permission to submit the outstanding forms once access to his account was restored.
According to the court documents, the committee acknowledged his complaint and confirmed that its chairperson had engaged the party’s IT Department over the reported reset of his portal PIN.
However, the committee maintained that his nomination could not be considered complete without Forms A and C, citing Clause 8.4 of the applicable electoral guidelines, and gave him until 5:00 p.m. on November 9 to submit the outstanding documents.
Mr Donkor says his solicitors subsequently requested a written explanation for the reset of his credentials and a copy of the portal audit log showing the documents previously uploaded, as well as the time and nature of the reset.
He contends that the committee failed to adequately address the concerns or provide the requested records before nominations were closed on November 9.
The plaintiff further states that his name was subsequently excluded from the list of successful nominees, while the party indicated that his contender was the only aspirant who had successfully filed nomination documents for the General Secretary position and would consequently go uncontested.
He argues that the actions and inactions of the defendants were unfair and unreasonable, contrary to Article 23 of the 1992 Constitution, and deprived him of the opportunity to contest the position.
Mr Donkor is therefore asking the court to declare his exclusion wrongful and unlawful and set aside the decision to exclude him from the nomination process.
He is also seeking an order directing the NDC and Mr Gibrill to restore his access to the nomination portal or provide an alternative means for him to complete and submit his nomination forms.
He wants the defendants to reconsider and process his nomination in accordance with the applicable electoral guidelines and allow him to undergo vetting after completing the nomination process.
He is also seeking costs, including legal costs, and any further reliefs the court may deem appropriate.
