Ayariga, wins; EC ordered to allow him to correct errors

Hassan Ayariga

The Accra High Court has ordered the Electoral Commission to allow presidential candidate of The All People’s Congress (APC) to correct the mistakes in his nomination forms.

The court, presided over by Justice Barbara Charway agreed with another Judge, Justice Eric Kyei Baffour who ruled on a similar case in favour of Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People's Party (PPP).

Justice Charway described the EC’s decision to disqualify Ayariga as "absurd, unfair and wrongful due to the circumstances including limitedness of 30th nomination day."

Justice Charway also dismissed the EC’s contention that the APC came to court through a wrong and premature process.

She said CI 94 does not preclude aggrieved persons from coming to court by Judicial Review.

She added that the nomination period is meaningful if it accommodates all activities incidental to a meaningful conclusion of the filing process.

The EC’s decision to disqualify the aspiring presidential candidate has therefore been squashed by the court.

Hassan Ayariga was disqualified from the 2016 presidential race when the EC discovered during the vetting of his nomination forms that two persons who endorsed his forms have done same for another presidential candidate.

The EC said this goes against Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94.

Mr Ayariga, following the striking out of these two persons, failed to obtain the required 432 signatures needed for a candidate to qualify for the elections.

But he did not take this lying down. He headed to court to challenge his disqualification culminating in Friday's verdict.

Speaking to Joy News’ Joseph Ackah Blay after the ruling, the presidential candidate could not hide his joy.

“Today, we must thank the Almighty God. For today, we must all believe in God, we have prayed and prayed that the court will give us justice. Ghanaians today have witnessed a very successful event today.”

The ruling, he believes, is a demonstration that Ghana’s laws are "working and no matter who you are or your institution, when you find fault with your issues, you can always go to court for redress.”

He praised the judge for giving “a wonderful, simple and perfect ruling.”

Mr Ayariga hoped for the best for all the other contenders and said his party will continue its campaigns.