EC conspired against disqualified aspirants - PPP

Pressure groups and other bodies including the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) should come out and condemn the manner in which certain elements within the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana conspired to disqualified some flag bearers who were seeking to contest in the December 7 elections, Paa Kow Ackon, Director of Communications of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), has said.

His call on such bodies follows his conviction, and that of the entire PPP, that the party’s flag bearer, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, was wrongfully removed from the race.

The PPP has sued the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana at an Accra High Court over the matter.

The motion for an order for judicial review in the nature of a certiorari and probation was filed by Dr Nduom on Thursday October 13. Also joined to the suit is Mrs Charlotte Osei, the Chairperson of the (EC).

According to the motion, the applicant is seeking the court to “restrain the respondents from proceeding with balloting for a position of presidential candidates for the 7th December, 2016”.

The applicant is also requesting the court, through his counsel, Ayikoi Otoo, to direct the EC chair to grant him 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 to contest as a presidential candidate in the upcoming elections.

Dr Nduom is one of 13 presidential aspirants whose nomination has been rejected by the EC.

The EC said it was unable to accept Dr Nduom’s nomination because the number of subscribers to his forms did not meet the requirements of Regulation 7(2) (b) of CI 94, citing the details below:

1. 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).

The subscriber was found to be on the voter’s register in one district, thereby disqualifying his second subscription and reducing the total number of subscribers to below the minimum required by the law.

The same subscriber (Richard Aseda (‘Asida’) endorsed the form with different signatures in both portions of the nomination form. This raises questions as to the legitimacy of one or both signatures.

But speaking in an interview with Accra News on Monday October 17, Mr Ackon said: “Some people conspired to disqualify Dr Nduom from the race because we (PPP) even approached the EC after submitting the forms to find out from them whether they were satisfied with the document and we were told that they would get back to us only to hear that Dr Nduom had been disqualified, at a time the law says give the person a chance to correct the errors on the form.

“And, so, I appeal to professional and other bodies, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) to speak against this act of the Electoral Commission.”