EC orders Nduom to produce defaulting subscriber on Tuesday

The Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) has written to the presidential nominee of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, to bring to its head office by close of day Tuesday the subscriber whose fault his forms were rejected.

Hours after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that the EC should extend the nomination deadline for all aggrieved political parties, Charlotte Osei, the Chair of the Commission, wrote to Dr Nduom to “procure the attendance of Mr Richard Aseda (who is listed as a subscriber on pages 21 and 39 of your form) at the head office of the Commission, prior to the close of nomination, to confirm that he actually subscribed to your forms and the district in which he subscribed”.

The letter also outlined “other concerns and discrepancies found on your nomination form within the extended nomination period”. “These include signatures which do not tally across copies of your form”. The PPP is one of the political parties that challenged the disqualification of their flagbearers by the Commission.

The party secured a High Court judgement on Friday, October 28 in its favour but the Commission went to the Supreme Court with a review application to have Justice Eri Kyei Baffour’s decision overturned.

But in its judgement on Monday, November 7, 30 clear days to the elections, the Supreme Court ordered the EC to re-open nominations to all parties albeit for 24 hours. It is unclear if the PPP can meet the latest demands of the EC captured in its letter.