The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has explained why it will not disqualify the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School Obuasi (SHTS), Zakaria Abdulai, from the Juaben Constituency Chairmanship contest despite sexual misconduct allegations involving female students.
According to the party, its decision is grounded in fairness and natural justice. In a statement dated October 19, the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) revealed that its earlier stance was for Mr. Abdulai to either step down voluntarily or be disqualified from the race.
But upon further review and in a bid to uphold fairness, the committee invited him to respond to the allegations before taking a final decision on his eligibility.
The FEC said it took into account the report from the Ghana Education Service (GES) committee that probed the issue, the investigative report by journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, and a directive from the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, who referred the matter to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for a full criminal investigation.
After assessing the available information, the NDC said it had decided to allow Mr. Abdulai to continue in the chairmanship race for now, noting that the decision was guided by respect for the constitutional rights of all parties.
The party emphasised that the presumption of innocence must be maintained while the criminal investigation is ongoing, adding that the timeline for its internal elections was also a factor.
This means the headmaster will remain in the Juaben Constituency Chairmanship contest at this stage, though the party says it may review its position based on the outcome of the investigations.
