The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it will study the Supreme Court’s decision declaring the delegate system used by political parties unconstitutional before taking a position on how to proceed.

The party’s Deputy General Secretary, Mustapha Gbande, said the NDC will first read the full judgment and assess the issues raised by the court before deciding on its next steps.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, Mr Gbande said the party could seek clarification from the court if any issues require further explanation.

“The party is yet to read a judgment, come to a full appreciation of what the prevailing issues are,” he said.

The Supreme Court, in a 5-2 majority decision, ruled that the long-standing practice of allowing only selected delegates to vote in presidential and parliamentary primaries violates democratic principles.

The court directed political parties to allow every registered, card-bearing member to participate in their internal elections.

Mr Gbande said the NDC has previously explored wider participation in its internal elections but encountered challenges.

“As far as this matter is concerned, it is not new to the NDC as a party. We’ve been here before in our own account, where we sought to deepen our participation, widen it to all members,” he said.

He added that the party had to abandon the arrangement at some point because of the difficulties it faced.

The NDC Deputy General Secretary also raised concerns about the practical and financial implications of implementing the court’s directive.

He questioned who would bear the cost of organising such elections and whether the Electoral Commission would be involved in supervising the process.

“Who is going to bear the cost of the election? Because even managing our own college system, you would have to pay, sometimes, the Electoral Commission to supervise that election for it to be credible,” he said.

Mr Gbande also highlighted challenges around mobilising large numbers of party members to participate in primaries.

“Who is going to do some mobilisation? It’s not easy to mobilise the number of people we are talking about, even to a voting centre,” he said.

He said the party would consider possible approaches to implementing the ruling, including whether elections would be organised at the voting centre, electoral area, district, or constituency level.

“It comes with its own challenges, and so the party would now sit, read the judgment, understand all the issues that the court has raised and resolved,” he said.

Mr Gbande said the NDC would rely on legal advice before announcing its position.

“If there are any issues that we will seek clarification on in the judgment, that will be done,” he said.

He added that the party would arrive at “some very informed position” after its lawyers explain the issues involved.

Mr Gbande described the reaction to the ruling as one of “mixed feelings”, noting that while the decision seeks to deepen democratic participation, its implementation presents challenges.