Election 2024: Another law suit hits EC as PPP’s Asamoah-Siaw fights his disqualification from presidential race

Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, the flagbearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), has filed a lawsuit against the Electoral Commission (EC) following his disqualification from the upcoming December 2024 presidential election.

Asamoah-Siaw was among 11 presidential aspirants disqualified, while 13 others, including four independent candidates, were cleared to contest. The EC cited the failure of the disqualified candidates to correct errors on their nomination forms as the reason for their exclusion.

In his suit, Asamoah-Siaw is requesting the court to nullify a letter dated September 20, 2024, authored by the EC Chairperson, which disqualified him from the race. He argued that the EC failed to specify any errors on his nomination forms, leaving him and his party uninformed about the nature of the mistakes, thereby preventing them from making necessary corrections.

The motion further contends, "It is inconceivable that the same respondent who previously identified specific errors in the applicant’s nomination forms and allowed corrections, this time, failed to pinpoint any additional errors, denying the applicant the opportunity to rectify them as required by law."

In a related development, Bernard Anbataayela Mornah, the flagbearer of the People's National Convention (PNC), has also taken legal action against the EC over his disqualification from the same race. Mornah argues that his disqualification violated his rights, was unlawful, and did not adhere to the due process required by law.

Mornah is seeking an order of mandamus to compel the EC to declare his nomination valid for the 2024 presidential election. He is also asking for an order to prevent the EC from printing ballot papers or proceeding with the election until he is reinstated as a candidate.