Dr Zanator wants to delay court process - MP

Nii Armah Ashietey, National Democratic Congress (NDC) incumbent Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle, has called on his supporters to exercise restraint and remain resolute as he seeks for redress in court. He urged them not to panic and be bold saying: “The truth is only one. At the end of the day, we shall get to the bottom of this case.”

Nii Armah Ashietey was addressing scores of supporters at Osu on the legal battle with the elected Parliamentary Candidate for the Constituency, Dr. Zanator Rawlings.

Dr. Rawlings had 2,739 representing 58.84 percent of the valid votes cast in the NDC Parliamentary primaries in November last year to defeat Nii Armah Ashietey, who pulled 1,348 votes representing 37.51 percent and Nii John Coleman had 151 votes representing 3.24 percent.

Nii Armah Ashietey later filed a suit against Dr. Rawlings at an Accra High Court praying the court to restrain her from holding herself out as Parliamentary candidate-elect for the NDC.

Dr. Rawlings, last Wednesday filed a fresh suit at the Supreme Court “an order of prohibition directed to the His Lordship Kwaku T. Ackah Boafo J of the High Court…restraining him from proceeding to hear the dispute between the applicant and the interested parties pending a decision in the instant application.”

The Supreme Court would on April 26, hear the case.

Nii Armah Ashietey has described Dr Rawlings bid to seek interpretation at the Supreme Court as means of delaying the court process.

According to the Nii Ashietey, Dr. Rawlings after suffering some defeats at the High Court had now gone to the Supreme Court to seek refuge.

He noted that Dr. Rawlings’ decision to go to the Supreme Court to afford her register as a voter during the upcoming Limited Registration Exercise to be conducted from April 28 to May 8.

He recounted that he had worked hard to bring the constituency to a level that attracted people, adding that people had taken advantage of that to impose a candidate on the constituency.

Following the filing of the application before the Supreme Court, the High Court had stayed proceeding awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court.

According to Dr. Rawlings, the learned judge erred in law when he wrongly assumed jurisdiction to interpret Article 94(1) (a) of the Constitution holding that once the Applicant had put herself out as a contestant in the parliamentary primaries of the NDC, she was caught by Article 94(1) (a) which required that she was registered voter at the time of her participation in the primaries.

Dr. Rawlings has been dragged to court by the incumbent NDC MP for Klottey Korle, Nii Armah Ashietey over claims that she is not a Ghanaian registered voter.

The Incumbent MP has therefore prayed the court to declare the election of Dr. Rawlings election as null and void and urged the court to order the NDC to re-run the primary in the area.