Jomoro NDC case petitioner files appeal against ruling

The petitioner in the Jomoro parliamentary election case has appealed the ruling of the Sekondi High Court at the court of appeal after the case against the Member of Parliament for the Jomoro Constituency, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, was dismissed last month.

He said the court erred when it held that by Article 48 of the Ivorian Nationality Code, the 1st respondent's letter to the Ivorian authorities, dated January 24, 2019, was evidence of the loss of her Ivorian nationality.

The Sekondi High Court, presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere, dismissed the case on November 21, 2022.

Joshua Emuah Kofie, the petitioner, had petitioned the court to challenge the eligibility of the MP to contest as a representative of the people in the constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on grounds that she had multiple nationalities, including American and Ivorian citizenships, which is against the 1992 Constitution.

The Sekondi High Court, presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere, dismissed the case on the grounds that the MP was eligible to contest as she lost her Ivorian citizenship at the same time she acquired her Ghanaian citizenship.

In regards to her American citizenship, the MP denied having American citizenship.

However, the petitioner has prayed to the court of appeal to overturn the ruling.

According to Dailyguide, the petitioner is dissatisfied with the ruling, as it was against the weight of the evidence and there was also an error of law.

He indicated that Article 48 and title "V' of the code make express provision for declaration, not the letter.

"There was no evidence of any such declaration having been made by the 1st respondent."

"When 1st respondent, on her own showing and from the evidence adduced, had been a Ghanaian from birth and could not now be taking on Ghanaian nationality," he added.

NYA/SEA