Ghana’s Supreme Court has abridged the date of the hearing of the Electoral Commission suit challenging the ruling of a High Court judge.
Justice Scott Puamang moved the date from next week to this Friday while directing Dr. Ndoum’s lawyer to file statement by noon tomorrow.
On Friday, October 28 2016, an Accra High Court presided over by His Lordship George Kyei Baffour in his ruling quashed the disqualification of PPP presidential candidate, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom by the Electoral Commission (EC).
Dr Nduom, according to the EC, was disqualified because “the number of subscribers to his forms did not meet the requirements of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94.
One subscriber Richard Aseda (‘Asida’ on the Voters’ Register), with Voter ID no 7812003957) endorsed the forms in two different districts (pages 21 and 39).
"I will proceed after quashing the decision of the Respondents disqualifying the Applicant as a candidate and order that the Respondents afford opportunity to the Applicant to make the necessary alteration or amendment to its nomination paper for it to receive same and then proceed to determine whether the Applicant had met all the criteria laid down by the laws of the Republic, in line with its duty laid down by C.I. 94. EC has no basis to complain that nomination period has closed when they did not set one. They only set nomination day under regulation 7 but not nomination period under regulation 9(2) as I have already found. The time frame to afford the Applicant is entirely within the discretion of the Respondents being mindful of the limited time available for the elections on December 7, 2016," Justice Eric K. Baffour ruled.
And it is seeking an interpretation of the spirit of the law that compelled the EC to head to the Supreme Court.