At long last, the Hearing Officer of the National Elections Commission (NEC) has ruled that Senator James P. Biney’s leadership of the National Patriotic Party (NPP) has expired and is without legitimacy.
The NEC Hearing Officer has, at the same time, appointed former House Speaker, Nyudueh Morkonmana, to cause the hosting of a stalwart meeting of the NPP for the purpose of constituting a convention coordinating committee that will lead the party to its 7th biennial convention.
According to the NEC ruling, Partisan Morkonmana’s selection is based on a careful review of the records available at the Commission, his independence and public records.
“The stalwart meeting mentioned in the ruling must be opened to all interested partisans, including the parties involved in the actions, and that partisan Morkonmana is further mandated to submit the names of members of the Convention Coordinating Committee to the Political Affairs Section of the NEC within twenty-one working days as of the rendering of this ruling,” the NEC ruling stated.
Thomas Plauto et al of the National Patriotic Party (NPP) on November 30, 2021 filed a six-count complaint with the National Elections Commission (NEC), alleging constitutional breaches by the party’s Chairman, James P. Biney, and others, for attempting to manipulate the list of delegates intended for the planned 7th Biennial Convention to have been held in Gbarnga, Bong County.
The complainants (petitioners) also claimed that procedures for the nomination of candidates to be elected to various positions were not followed, and that respondent Biney, who had registered as a candidate to be re-elected as Chairman of the party, has appointed a convention committee, naming himself as the Chairman of said committee.
The complainants (petitioners) presented all of their submissions and arguments that the respondents (Biney and others) have lost legitimacy to govern the NPP, and that neither were they qualified to take the party to convention by virtue of the expiration of their tenure to rule.
“While we agree with the respondents (Biney and others) on their argument of the law (NPP Constitution) Which requires that the chairperson shall preside over all meetings and conventions, we wish to also remind the respondents of another provision of the same constitution, which requires that the party proceed to convention in 4 years for the purpose of electing new officers. The party’s constitution must be considered in a holistic manner; one cannot be in violation of one provision of the law and enjoy the rights provided under another provision. Respondents (Biney and others) cannot enjoy constitutional protection to take the party to convention while at the same time violating the provision which protects their rights to enjoy tenure,” the NEC ruling emphasized.
Meanwhile, former House Speaker and senior partisan of the NPP, Nyudueh Morkonmana, has made a passionate plea to all stakeholders of the NPP to rally around him for a successful hosting of the stalwart meeting, as mandated by the NEC, in order to ensure an amicable resolution and the successful holding of the 7th Biennial Convention.