The Supreme Court of Ghana
The Supreme Court has dismissed an application seeking an injunction to halt the president from continuing with the process of appointing a new Electoral Commission Chair.
According to the five-member panel of Supreme Court judges, the constitution in article 22 makes available remedies for a reinstatement if the court finds the removal of Charlotte Osei unconstitutional.
A Ghanaian citizen, Fafali Nyonator, filed for an interlocutory injunction at the Supreme Court to restrain President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo from appointing a new Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) until her substantive suit challenging the removal is determined by the court.
Ms. Nyonator had earlier filed a suit at the same court challenging the legality of the processes that led to the dismissal of Charlotte Osei.
In the substantive case which was filed on July 3, 2018, the plaintiff is claiming, among others, that the committee that recommended the removal of Mrs Osei and her two deputies exceeded its powers by construing or defining the scope of application of provisions of the 1992 Constitution, including articles 44 (2) and 146.
She says the committee thus acted in violation of Article 130 (a) by usurping the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to interpret the provisions of the 1992 Constitution.
Despite her suits, Nana Addo went ahead to nomination IEA’s Jean Mensa and three other persons to serve at the Commission. The four are to be sworn into office once their appointments are endorsed by the Council of state.
Kweku Baako’s suit challenging Charlotte Osei’s removal still pending
The Editor-in-Chief of the Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, has also sued government over the dismissal of Charlotte Osei. The hearing of that suit is still pending.
In a writ invoking the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for the interpretation of the Constitution, Mr. Kwaku Baako argues that the Chief Justice Committee which investigated petitions for the removal of the EC Boss exceeded its constitutional mandate.
Mrs. Charlotte Osei was removed from office two weeks ago together with her two deputies; Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amakwah, for stated misbehaviour and imcompetence.
The writ, which was filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Mr Samson Lardy Anyenini, at exactly 10 a.m. at the Supreme Court in Accra Tuesday July 10 prayed the apex court to hold that the Chief Justice’s prima facie determination against Mrs Osei was inconsistent and in violation of Article 146 (3) of the 1992 Constitution.
Meanwhile, a Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Dame, has revealed that the president will complete the appointment process of Ms. Jean Mensah by close of day today, Tuesday.
Citinewsroom