The ruling, delivered on Monday, 21 October, is a major setback for Mornah, who had hoped the court would reinstate him on the ballot for the 7 December polls.
Mornah’s disqualification stemmed from concerns raised by the Electoral Commission (EC) over the sufficiency of his nomination forms. Despite his argument that the disqualification was unjust, the court sided with the EC, ruling that the decision was lawful. The presiding judge, Justice Apietu, made no order as to costs, citing the constitutional nature of the case.
Meanwhile, Mornah has vowed to file a petition at the supreme court to overturn the High Court's ruling.
“The EC made mistakes on their own forms and we are not allowed to make mistakes. The judge did not look at that and that defies ordinary thinking. What is the error that they are talking about? Is it a data entry error that they are talking about, is it an error of composition and how come those errors were not brought to court?
“The judge did not look at the issues that were brought before it and I have already instructed my lawyers that this case is not ending here and we will go to the Supreme Court and my lawyers say that they will quickly study the case," he told journalists on Monday, October 21.
It remains to be seen whether Mornah will be able to surmount the legal issues and eventually contest in the presidential election, which is less than fifty days away.