Nduom floors EC over disqualification

An Accra High Court has ordered the Electoral Commission to afford the Progressive People’s Party candidate Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom the opportunity to make the necessary corrections on their nomination form.

According to the Court, the EC did not afford the presidential candidates a nomination period within which mistakes on their forms could be corrected but only set a nomination day.

The Court presided by His Lordship George Kyei Baffour also in his ruling quashed the disqualification of all the presidential candidates.

Dr Nduom was part of 13 aspirants disqualified from contesting in the December elections over alleged illegalities on their nomination forms.

Dr Nduom according to the EC was disqualified because “the number of subscribers to his forms did not meet the requirements of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94. The details are as follows:

- 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.

Dr. Nduom is likely to be allowed to contest the Presidential elections if he corrects the mistakes on his forms.