It was a showdown between the Electoral Commission's (EC) and the Progressive People’s Party's lawyers (PPP) when the two met in court today.
The EC led by their attorney, Thaddeus Sory and the Dr. Ndoum’s lawyer, Ayikoi Otoo had a fracas where both law men were unhappy with the tone used by the other in building his argument.
When Ayikoi Otoo pointed out to Mr. Sory that he was his senior at the bar and must show respect, Sory retorted, in court there was no seniority adding he was not Mr. Otoo’s book bearer.
Thaddeus Sory
For the EC, the High Court had no locus in determining which presidential aspirant appeared on the ballot since that was the preserve of the commission given its independent status.
But an animated Ayikoi Otoo rendered he filed a writ of certiorari to inform the court of the grievances of his client.
“You breached your own law, give me room to make my case too you say I should file a petition,†Mr. Otoo said of the EC’s unhappiness with the PPP involving the court.
He said if the EC has a scattered house, it ought not unfairly knock down presidential aspirants over their poor planning stating the commission set the date for nomination form submission for September 29 and 30 which his client, Dr. Kwesi Ndoum did only to hear of his disqualification on October 10 without an avenue given him to right the wrongs purported to have been made.
He volleyed that the law governing the electoral process made room for presidential aspirants to mend and even alter information on their nomination forms when the EC detects errors or inconsistencies but the charlotte Osei led commission denied his client any such avenues.
“Were you not in Ghana when the EC asked all the aspirants to submit their nomination papers on September 29 and 30,†he asked the media men he was interacting with after the court hearing.
According to the former Attorney General, the EC erred when it set the September 29 and 30 dates as deadlines for submitting nomination papers especially when aspirants who picked their forms on September 13 could not submit till the 29 and 30 yet had no window for corrections to be effected before the EC gave its disqualification announcement.
He noted that since the law allowed for corrections to be made thanks to parliament, his client who submitted his form on deadline date is a nominee for the ballot “till he steps down from the race, dies or becomes gravely ill.â€
Mr. Ayikoi Otoo warned that if the High Court does not rule in his client’s favour on Friday, he shall pursue the matter on behalf of his client at the Supreme Court.
For Thaddeus Sory, the High Court lacks the power to compel the EC put Dr. Ndoum’s name on the ballot but acknowledged that the court could ask that the PPP leader be allowed to correct mistakes on his form but no more.
Â