Flagbearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom has welcomed the Court’s order to the Electoral Commission (EC) to give him [Nduom] the opportunity to rectify errors on his nomination form.
Speaking to media after the order, Nduom said “It’s not a great moment for me, but it’s a great moment for democracy and for our human rights”.
Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom sued the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei and the Electoral Commission as the first and second respondents respectively after he was disqualified from contesting the December 7 presidential election.
Read more:Court orders EC to reinstate Nduom
The Court presided over by His Lordship George Kyei Baffour also in his ruling quashed the disqualification of the presidential candidate.
Dr Nduom was part of 13 aspirants disqualified from contesting in the December elections over alleged illegalities on their nomination forms.
Dr Nduom, according to the EC, was disqualified because “the number of subscribers to his forms did not meet the requirements of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94.
One subscriber Richard Aseda (‘Asida’ on the Voters’ Register), with Voter ID no 7812003957) endorsed the forms in two different districts (pages 21 and 39).
The subscriber was found to be on the Voter’s Register in one district thereby disqualifying his second subscription and reducing the total number of subscribers to below the minimum required by the Law.
The same subscriber (Richard Aseda (‘Asida’) endorsed the form with different signatures in both portions of the nomination form. This raises questions as to the legitimacy of one or both signatures.
More here: Ndoum urges voters to retire Mahama, says he has failed
Nii Ayikoi Otoo, counsel for Dr Nduom, has challenged the Electoral Commission's disqualification of his client arguing it has no basis in the EC's own law.
Opening his case at the Accra High Court Tuesday, Ayikoi Otoo argued that the Constitutional Instrument (CI 94), the regulation governing the 2016 general elections does not provide for the disqualification of any candidate.