EC’s Own Law Prohibits Disqualifications; Ayikoi Otoo Opens PPP Case

Nii Ayikoi Otoo, counsel for the PPP’s Presidential candidate, Dr. Papa Kwesi 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.

Dr. Nduom is one of 12 presidential candidates whose presidential nomination forms were rejected by the EC.

According to the Commission, the candidates failed to garner the 432 endorsers needed to qualify a candidate. Some of the subscribers were not qualified voters, the EC has said.

But the candidates have explained these are simple administrative errors that could have been easily rectified if the EC had drawn their attention to it.

Continuing this line of argument at the second hearing, Ayikoi Otoo argued that “the law says the returning officer shall inform the nominee to make amendments”.

He told the court that the word ‘shall’ places an obligation on the EC to notify the candidates if there are infractions on the nomination forms.

This meant that the CI has no intention of allowing the EC to disqualify a candidate for the reasons the EC has given.

A disqualification could arise only after the person fails to effect the needed amendment to his nomination forms even after the EC has shifted the responsibility of corrections on the presidential nominee.

Dr. Nduom did not have that opportunity to do so, he noted.

Ayikoi Otoo argued that the EC’s explanation that the errors were of a criminal nature and therefore cannot be simply corrected is flawed.

He continues that the law doesn’t say ‘don’t allow a nominee to amend because there is a crime on his form, it says allow him to amend when there is something wrong on the form.

Presiding judge Justice Kyei Baffuor drew the lawyer’s attention to the law guaranteeing the independence of the EC.

“But they say even if they failed to notify you, Article 46 makes the Commission independent, they contend that the court can therefore not instruct them”

Ayikoi Otoo replied by reading Article 295(8) which provides that any act that is inconsistent with this Constitution is null and void

“So you think because you are independent you can sit there and do what you want without recourse to the law?, once it’s inconsistent ,it is null and void!” he fumed.

Ayikoi Otoo rejected explanation from counsel for the Electoral Commission Thaddeus Sory argued that Dr. Nduom was provided the opportunity to meet the EC over the information on his presidential nomination forms.

The PPP legal counsel said Dr. Nduom was given that opportunity after he was disqualified which is against the law. To this, Thaddeus Sory rebutted that if Dr. Paa Kwesi had sumbitted his nomination papers early enough the EC could have helped him rectify trouble spots on his forms.

Since he filed on the last day – 30th September 2016 – which made it impossible for the EC to help him, Sory suggested.

Counsel for Electoral Commission Thaddeus Sory also challenged the procedure by which the PPP Presidential candidate Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom is fighting his disqualification.

He insisted that Nii Ayikoi Otoo, counsel for Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom is using the wrong procedure to challenge the disqualification . He said the PPP lawyer should have filed a petition and not a certiorari or writ.

-Myjoyonline