The party says Gunu failed a six-month resignation rule for appointees seeking internal office, and he is now appealing.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has confirmed that Dzifa Gunu, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Digital Centres Limited, cannot contest for the position of Constituency Secretary in La Dadekotopon.
The party's Regional Elections Committee has written to him formally to communicate the disqualification, according to the NDC's Acting Director of Elections and IT, Mahdi Gibril.
Why he was disqualified
Gibril, speaking in an interview on Sunday, October 5, said the decision came out of the vetting process, where a petition was filed against Gunu. The complaint was that he was still holding his state appointment at the time he filed his nomination papers.
The NDC's internal guidelines require a prospective candidate who holds such a position to have resigned at least six months before filing.
"Those who didn't meet the criteria of the party guidelines are disqualified," Gibril said, as reported by Adom Online.
According to Gibril, Gunu told the vetting committee that his appointment had been made by the appointing authority and that he had since sent in a resignation letter to that authority. He was then asked to produce evidence of the resignation.
Gibril said that instead of submitting the documents, Gunu wrote back asking for clarification on his status. The committee proceeded with the disqualification.
Appeal is open
The decision is not final. Gibril stressed that anyone disqualified at this stage has the right to challenge the ruling internally, and Gunu has already filed an appeal asking for the decision to be overturned.
Ghana Digital Centres Limited is the state-backed company that runs technology and business hubs, including the Accra Digital Centre, aimed at supporting startups and digital jobs.
Nomination forms open this week
Gibril also announced that the NDC's online portal for buying nomination forms for the constituency elections opens on Tuesday, October 6, and closes on Thursday, October 8.
That short three-day window matters for anyone still planning to contest, including party members abroad who follow and fund constituency-level politics at home. With the process running online, Ghanaians in the United States and elsewhere who are eligible can track the timelines without being physically present.
What this means
Constituency executive elections decide who controls the party machinery at the grassroots. Secretaries in particular handle records, communication and coordination between the constituency and the regional and national leadership, which makes the role one of the more contested positions in any branch.
The NDC's insistence on the six-month resignation rule signals that the party intends to apply its guidelines to appointees who want to hold internal office, something that could affect other serving officials eyeing positions.
The outcome of Gunu's appeal will show how strictly the rule is enforced.
