Supreme Court shielding EC from accountability in 2020 election petition was agonising – Ex-Appeal Court judge

A former justice of the Appeal Court, Justice Saeed Kwaku Gyan has stated that the Supreme Court committed travesty when it failed to allow the Electoral Commissioner, Jean Adukwei Mensa to testify in the 2020 election petition brought by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Referencing Article 125 (3) and other provisions of the 1992 Constitution, Justice Saeed posited that the court by its decision failed in its mandate of holding state institutions accountable on behalf of the populace.

“Article 125 (3) declares that the judicial power of Ghana is vested in the judiciary, Article 125 emphasises that “Justice emanates from the people and shall be administered in the name of the republic by the judiciary which shall be independent and subject only to the constitution.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the imports of these stipulations are to underscore the fact that the judiciary and hence judges of our courts are accountable to the people as their servants and not as their masters if the quest is to achieve and advance the vision of democratic governance and the objective and tangible fruits of democracy in our land.

“Additionally, and more importantly, the judiciary has the bounding duty to hold all other powers, agencies and entities of state accountable and ensure transparency in their actions or deeds.

"And in this respect, I felt very very agonised when the Supreme Court in the 2020 election petition decided to shield the Electoral Commissioner from giving evidence. The Supreme Court in that trial was a constitutional court, not just any court,” he stated.

The former justice made this statement during a lecture organised by Solidaire Ghana and the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.

The lecture was on the theme “Protecting Ghana’s Democracy: The Role of the Judiciary” and had other speakers such as former Supreme Court judge, Justice William Atuguba.

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