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The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has rejected George Afriyie’s appeal against being disqualified from the impending 2023 presidential elections.
The elections committee rejected Afriyie earlier this month because he did not fulfill the requirements stated in Article 13(2)(j) of the 2019 Ghana Football Association statutes and because he did not receive the necessary support from other GFA members for his candidacy.
He was given the chance to appeal, which he did successfully, but the Appeals Committee maintained the prior ruling, essentially disqualifying Afriyie from the upcoming election.
George Kwasi Afriyie appealed the elections committee’s decision to rule him ineligible to run for the GFA presidency in a notice of appeal dated September 8, 2023.
The appeals committee examined every pertinent document, including Afriyie’s submission, the Elections Committee’s ruling, video of Afriyie’s background investigation, and interviews conducted by the Elections Committee.
The key question was whether or not the Elections Committee had George Kwasi Afriyie properly disqualified.
Afriyie asserted, among other things, that the elections committee actually consisted of six individuals rather than the authorized five.
The Appeals Committee explained that the sixth member indicated by Afriyie was the Ghana Football Association’s in-house attorney, who served in an administrative capacity and did not make the panel’s size go from five to six.
Afriyie further stated that he had filed endorsements from six GFA members for his nomination. Although the usual nomination form only allowed for a maximum of five endorsements, the Appeals Committee determined that he had only submitted five legitimate endorsements.
Afriyie was disqualified by the Elections Committee partly because of an endorsement from Victory Club Warriors F/C that was declared invalid since Jeffery Asare, the signatory, was neither a club director nor an authorized signatory according to the GFA’s records. The Appeals Committee upheld the Elections Committee’s judgment despite Afriyie’s objections.
As a result of this decision, incumbent President Kurt Okraku is now expected to win the GFA president without any challengers, thereby throwing George Afriyie out of the contest.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
