Supreme Court's ruling narrows poll-rigging avenues - Gabby Otchere Darko

The Supreme Court's order given to the Electoral Commission (EC) to make collation sheets for presidential elections available to political parties and their agents after close of polls has narrowed the avenues for rigging the elections, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said.

The apex court gave the order on Thursday October 27 after a petitioner, a former Director of Research in parliament, Kwesi Nyame Tease-Eshun, sought to expose the flaws in the new CI 94 that governs the 2016 general elections.

Under the CI 94, the EC is not obliged to provide copies of the collation sheet to political party agents. The petitioner, represented by Akoto Ampaw, described this provision in the CI as an “absurdity”.

Justice William Atuguba, who read the judgment of the court on behalf of the seven-member panel, directed that the EC confers with lawyers for the plaintiff to rectify the anomaly identified in CI 94.

The lawyers involved in the case are to come to court later with a resolution after which the court will adopt the amendment as law.

Commenting on this order by the highest court of the land, Mr Otchere-Darko wrote on his Facebook page that: “The avenues for rigging elections have significantly narrowed. The Supreme Court ruling on collation sheets today (Thursday October 27) is a major victory for our democracy. Candidates still have a responsibility to recruit the right people as agents.”