Supreme Court to resolve all impending election disputes within 42 days

Chief Justice, Anin Yeboah has stated that all disputes that will emanate from the forthcoming 2020 general elections will be tackled by the Supreme Court within 42 days.

Mr. Justice Anin Yeboah said this year’s general election will not be allowed to take the shape of the 2012 general elections whereby an election petition filed by then-candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, travelled more than eight months.

This according to him is in accordance with two major changes from part of the new Supreme Court (Amendment) (No.2) Rules, 2016 (C.I. 99) which was enacted into law by Parliament in 2017.

It states; “Per Rule 69C (4) of C.I. 99, the pre-trial of the petition shall be on the 10th day after the filing of the petition, with hearing commencing on the 15th day and ending on the 21st day respectively after the filing, while judgment will be on the 42nd day,”

Speaking at the launch of the fourth edition of the Manual on Election Adjudication in Ghana, the Chief Justice further noted that the new adjustments are intended to guide the court to effectively deal with imminent electoral disputes.

“The amendment to the Supreme Court Rules, effected by the Supreme Court (Amendment) (No 2) Rules, 2016 (C.I. 99), has introduced strict timelines for the management and hearing of presidential election disputes which require the court to determine any such disputes on the 42nd day after its filling,” he added.

Per the amendment, only the declared winner of the presidential poll and the Electoral Commission (EC) are allowed respondents to a presidential election petition.