NDC MP for Ashaiman withdraws injunction application against EC

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ashaiman Constituency, Ernest Henry Norgbey, (The Applicant) has withdrawn an injunction application he filed against the Electoral Commission.

His application which was pending before the Human Rights High Court presided over by Justice Gifty Agyei Addo, sought to injunct the Electoral Commission (EC) from abiding by its decision not to release Procurement information under the Right to Information law because Parliament is yet to legislate the appropriate fees chargeable on all who wish to obtain information from State institutions.

The Applicant filed an application in the Human Rights Court seeking documents regarding the EC and Thales Contract under the Right to Information Act.

The EC filed a response and argued that the action is not warranted since Parliament has not fixed the fees to be paid for the release of information under the Right to Information Act.

The Applicant (Norgbe) then filed an application for Interim (Mandatory) Injunction for the information required under the main action.

The Electoral Commission and its lawyers again opposed this application on the ground that a determination of the matter by way of injunction determines the main action and renders the main action nugatory.

The Applicant not satisfied with the turn of events then yet again filed an application for interrogatories seeking the self same documents and answers to questions in the main action.

The Electoral Commission again filed an affidavit opposing same that its determination one way or the other renders the main action nugatory.

When the matter came up for hearing today the 2nd of June 2020, Justice Gifty Adjei Addo’s Court raised the issue of the two applications determining the main action and that she was minded to hear the main action rather than the interrogatories and the injunction application as she agreed with the issues raised in the EC’s affidavits in opposition.

Lawyer for the Applicant, Dr. Abdul Bassit Bamba, humbly withdrew the interrogatories and the injunction applications and same was struck out as withdrawn by the Court.

The court subsequently ordered both parties to file their written submissions regarding their respective positions in the main action within 10 days and adjourned the matter to the 18th June 2020 for hearing. There was no order as to cost.