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Tough day: EC faces 3 legal battles over disqualifications

The Electoral Commission (EC) faces three political parties Tuesday, November 1 following the disqualification of their presidential candidates from the December polls.

The National Democratic Party (NDP), the People’s National Convention (PNC) and All People’s Congress (APC) will be hoping to get the court to overturn the Commission’s decision to reject the candidacy of their presidential aspirants for this year’s polls.

At the Human Rights Division of the High Court the NDP, led by Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, will be embarking on a second attempt to get the court to place an injunction that will prohibit and restrain the EC and its agents from going ahead with the balloting of presidential candidates until the court settles the matter.

A similar suit had been struck out by an Accra High Court earlier over procedural errors.

Charlotte Osei, EC Chair
Presiding Judge, Justice George Koomson described the earlier NDP suit as incompetent and not capable of appropriately invoking the Jurisdiction of the court.

He, however, gave a leeway leading to NDP lawyers to file a fresh suit seeking the court’s enforcement of Mrs. Rawlings fundamental human rights which they believe the EC had breached.

The Human Rights Court will be expected to grant an abridgment of time motion to allow the matter be heard early.

A date for submission of written statements and presentation of oral arguments will be fixed by the Court as well.

The PNC and its presidential candidate, Dr. Edward Mahama, will also begin a first legal attack at the EC over the disqualification. Dr. Mahama wants the Court to set aside the EC’s decision to reject his nomination form as well as order the Commission to accept his form.

APC’s Hassan Ayariga and his team of lawyers will make a third push overturn the EC’s disqualification after which he will wait on Presiding Judge Barbara Tetteh-Charway to fix a date for the ruling.

All three political parties will be hoping for the same favourable ruling that the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) secured when it went to court to challenge the disqualification of its presidential candidate, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom.

Meanwhile, the EC has filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the High Court ruling that compelled it to allow Dr. Nduom ‘s name to be put on the ballot paper for this year’s election. But a law lecturer at the University of Ghana says the Electoral Commission's decision to appeal ruling could affect the elections timetable.

Dr Poku Adusei said he us "worried the Electoral Commission is pursuing this line because by the time the matter is resolved in the case of Nduom in the Supreme Court we would have lost at least about 10 days.”.


Source: myjoyonline.com

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