PNC joins EC suing spree

Another one of the parties whose flag bearers were disqualified from the December 7 presidential election has said it is getting ready to drag the Electoral Commission to Court.

The People’s National Convention (PNC)says its internal probe into the disqualification of its presidential nominee, Dr Edward Mahama, showed that the party is justified to resort to court for redress.

Already the National Democratic Party (NDP) has sued the EC in an attempt to get the election management body to reinstate its flag bearer Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings in the race.

The suit, filed on Monday, 17 October, makes the NDP the third to sue the EC in connection with the disqualification of 13 aspirants.

The General Secretary of the NDP, Alhaji Mohammed Frimpong, told Emefa Apawu on Class91.3FM’s 505 news programme that the NDP applied for an interlocutory injunction to be placed on all processes in connection with the elections, which would require their participation.

Apart from the former First Lady and Dr Mahama, 11 other aspirants were disqualified by the EC. They include the flag bearer of the All People's Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga; Dr Agyenim Boateng of the United Front Party (UFP); Kofi Akpaloo of the Independent People's Party (IPP); and Kwabena Adjei of the Reformed Patriotic Democrats (RPD).

Others include: Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP); Mr Richard Nixon Tetteh (United Development Systems Party); Thomas Ward-Brew of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP); Alfred Kwame Asiedu Walker, an independent candidate, and Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP).

They were disqualified over clerical and administrative errors as well as for forgery and perjury.

Those who qualified include Mr Akufo-Addo, John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ivor Greenstreet of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), and Jacob Osei Yeboah, an independent candidate.

Already the GCPP and the PPP have both filed suits to restrict the EC from conducting a balloting exercise for positions on the presidential ballot paper. Should the PNC carry out its threat, the EC would have four parties to battle in court over the mass disqualification – the first-ever in Ghana’s political history.