Court suits won’t affect poll date – Kweku Baako

The editor in-chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul-Malik Kweku Baako, has expressed confidence Ghana’s 2016 elections will come off on December 7 despite the myriad of lawsuits against the Electoral Commission (EC) with some 30 days to the polls.

Some presidential aspirants have dragged the election management body to court for disqualifying them from participating in the election because of errors on their nomination forms.

Although the EC chair, Mrs Charlotte Osei, is confident the polls will come off on December 7 as scheduled, there are fears from a section of Ghanaians that the litany of court cases against the EC, with just over 30 days to the polls, will affect the timetable.

Contributing to the discussion on Newsfile on Joy FM on Saturday November 5, Mr Baako said: “Some people are worried, some people think these litigations will derail the process [but] I don’t believe so. I’m confident that we are going to have the elections on December 7. I don’t believe in all those doomsday scenarios.”

Meanwhile, a seven-member Supreme Court panel presided over by Justice Sophia Adinyira has set 7 November to give its ruling on the case brought before it by the Electoral Commission seeking to counter-quash a ruling by the High Court, which ordered the election management body to allow disqualified flag bearer of the Progressive People’s Party, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, to get back into the presidential race.

It is widely believed that the ruling of the Supreme Court will bring an end to the litany of court cases as far as the election is concerned.