The Supreme Court will later today deliver a landmark judgment on the suit filed by the Electoral Commission seeking to set aside a High Court order requesting the Commission to allow PPP Flagbearer Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom to correct errors on his presidential nomination forms.
The Commission had gone to the apex court to seek clarity following the decision of a High Court Judge, Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, to quash the Commission’s decision to disqualify Dr Nduom from the presidential race on December 7.
The EC said it rejected Dr Nduom’s nomination on grounds that the number of subscribers of his forms did not meet the requirements of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94, the law governing the conduct of the 2016 elections.
The commission said one of his subscribers endorsed the form with different signatures in both portions of the nomination form, raising questions about the legitimacy of one or both signatures.
Supreme Court judges, Justice Sophia Adinyira (presiding), Justice Anin Yeboah, Justice Vida Akoto Bamfo, Justice Yaw Appau, Justice Ampah Benin and Justice Gabriel Pwamang will in today’s ruling establish the limits of EC’s powers to handle errors on the nomination forms of presidential and parliamentary aspirants.
The EC last month triggered multiple suits against its decision to reject nominations of Dr Nduom, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings of National Democratic Party, Hassan Ayariga of the All People’s Congress (APC) and 10 other presidential candidates in the upcoming December polls.
The rejected political parties are; Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), United Progressive Party (UPP), Reformed Patriotic Democrats (RPD), Progressive People’s Party (PPP), and the Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP).
The rest include; United Front Party (UFP), All People’s Congress (APC), National Democratic Party (NDP), and the Independent People’s Party (IPP).
Chairperson of the Commission, Charlotte Osei, explained apart from the flagbearers of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, National Democratic Congress, President John Mahama, Convention People’s Party (CPP), Ivor Kobina Greenstreet and an independent candidate, Jacob Yeboah, the rest did not meet the criteria for filing as presidential candidates.
The PPP was first to secure a High Court order to compel the EC to allow the errors to be corrected and allow Dr Nduom to be in the race for the presidential polls.
A week later, an Accra High Court also ordered the Electoral Commission to afford Hassan Ayariga the opportunity to amend the anomalies and to contest the presidential elections. The NDP and PNC are also seeking the same favourable verdict from the High Court.
However, should the Supreme Court today, Monday, November 7, 2016, uphold the EC decision it would binding on all the presidential candidates seeking to overturn the Commission’s disqualification at different High Courts.
–Myjoyonline