Former Vice President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), George Afriyie has taken legal action by filing a notice of application for an injunction against the association’s scheduled elections on October 5, 2023.
This interlocutory injunction, obtained on Friday, September 29, 2023, from the Accra High Court’s Human Rights Division, is set to be presented by Mr. Afriyie’s legal representative on October 12, 2023, according to Joy Sports.
The crux of Mr. Afriyie’s application centers on the contention that the decision by the Elections Committee to disqualify him as a presidential aspirant, coupled with the Appeals Committee’s subsequent affirmation of this ruling earlier in the month, constitutes a “violation of fundamental human rights, particularly with regard to due process and fair hearing.”
Consequently, Mr. Afriyie is seeking a declaration from the court deeming the decisions of these committees “invalid due to the violation of the Plaintiff’s [George Afriyie] fundamental human rights.” He has also beseeched the court to rule that proceeding with the election of the GFA president, despite an ongoing appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), infringes on his human rights, specifically the rights to “due process and/or fair hearing.”
The application further calls for an injunction, restraining the defendant from electing a president for its Executive Council until Mr. Afriyie’s case is ultimately determined, or until his pending appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport reaches its final verdict.
George Afriyie’s disqualification from the GFA presidential elections stemmed from the Elections Committee’s determination that his nomination form did not meet the requirements necessary for him to compete for the highest position in Ghanaian football.