The Business Law Society of Ghana (BLSG) has counseled the Electoral Commission (EC) to use the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism to settle its differences with aggrieved political parties.
The society said an ADR approach towards the continuous litigation towards preparation for the December 7 will prevent electoral crisis.
A news release issued in Accra and signed by Osei Bonsu Dickson, president of BLSG said the disqualification of 13 presidential aspirants by the EC could trigger protracted litigation and the ADR mechanism will help solve the issues.
“Since the EC’s announcement, which has been greeted with current and proposed law suits at the Supreme Court, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has rightly forewarned that the EC’s plan of holding the elections in December may be displaced by pre-electoral litigation.”
The release said “We can prevent electoral and constitutional crisis with dialogue; which is why we recommend multilateral dialogue and ADR to be embraced and utilized alongside the court adjudicatory arrangements.”
It said “Our suggestion is also anchored legally on the fact that since the promulgation of the ADR Act of 2010 (Act 798), ADR has increasingly gained wide acceptance as an alternative litigation.”
“The stakeholders in our elections – the EC, the political parties, the electorate, and donor organizations have diverse interests implicated in the process. These multiple interests can, however, be accommodated through effective dialogue.”
The release said with approximately 49 days to the general election all efforts should be put towards getting a successful process.
“The Ghanaian electorate also deserves more open information about every aspect of the elections, especially the various civil mechanisms of resolving dispute.”
They urged the EC to be guided by Article 296 and 23 of the 1992 Constitution when using its discretionary powers to ensure fairness and greater openness saying “the EC must be able to review its own decisions, where the situation so requires and the political parties must commit fully to cooperation and dialogue with the EC.”
By Yaw Owusu