The Accra High Court hearing the lawsuit filed by the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) seeking to restrain the Electoral Commission (EC) from proceeding with the balloting for positions of presidential candidates will give its judgement on Friday, October 28, 2016.
The PPP is also challenging the EC’s decision to disqualify its presidential aspirant, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, from the presidential race.
The party has since said it will go to the Supreme Court if the High Court hearing its case against the EC fails to rule in its favour.
In response to a query on what the party would do if the judgment on Friday does not go the PPP’s way, Lawyer for the party, Ayikoi Otoo simply said, “we will go to the Supreme Court.”
Background
Dr. Nduom was disqualified along with 12 other presidential aspirants after anomalies were cited in his filed nomination forms.
At the last hearing of this case on October 20, the court granted an application by the EC to abridge the time for the hearing of the injunction suit from going ahead with the processes to conduct elections in December.
According to its writ, the PPP is seeking an order of prohibition to restrain the EC from proceeding with balloting for position of presidential candidates for the 7th December elections.
The plaintiff is also seeking “…a further order directed against the 1st Respondent in her capacity as Returning Officer for Presidential elections to grant the Applicant the opportunity to amend and alter the one anomaly found in his nomination papers as well as accept his nomination papers as amended or altered to enable him contest as a Presidential Candidate for the 7th December 2016 elections.”
The suit has Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom as the exparte applicant, Charlotte Osei, the EC Chairperson, as the first respondent, and the EC as the second respondent.
The writ noted that, “Hon. J. Ayikoi Otoo, Counsel for and on behalf of the applicant, will move this Honourable Court praying for an order for Judicial Review by way of Certiorari to bring to this Court the decision of the Respondents dated 10th October, 2016, which disqualified the Applicant as a Presidential Candidate for the 2016 General Elections, for purposes of having same quashed upon the grounds of… (1) Breach of the rules of natural justice (2) Error apparent on the face of the record and (3) Failing to live the requirement as imposed by law.”
Prior to this court action, Dr. Nduom had met with the EC boss to get her to rescind her decision, but the meeting ended with no hope for the renowned entrepreneur who was making a third and last attempt at the presidency.
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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana