Be fair in adjudication of electoral-related disputes - Ag Chief Justice

Justice William A. Atuguba - Acting Chief Justice

The acting Chief Justice, Justice William A. Atuguba, has advised judges and magistrates to be fair and transparent in the adjudication of electoral-related disputes.

Such a disposition, he stated would assure Ghanaians that the judiciary was in a position to defend and enforce the constitutional rights of qualified voters.

The acting Chief Justice was speaking at a training programme on adjudicating electoral disputes for some selected High and Circuit Court judges and magistrates in Accra .

The training programme is part of a series of activities lined-up by the judiciary to sensitise participants to the determination of cases that might arise by virtue of the coming into being of the ‘Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations 2012 popularly known as the CI 72.

The training programme was organised by the Judicial Training Institute with support from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Department.

Justice Atuguba noted that with the law coming into force, the biometric voters register had added new responsibilities to independent institutions including the Judiciary to deliver justice as mandated under Article 125 of the 1992 Constitution.

He said that, over the years, although Ghana’s elections had been touted as credible, free and fair, concerns had been raised about the state of the voter’s register described by many as bloated.

The acting Chief Justice, therefore, noted that a credible electoral list was an essential component in the election process as it involved persons from various backgrounds who sought to register in order to exercise their fundamental right to vote.

Justice Atuguba observed that the role of Ghana’s judiciary in the electoral registration process unlike that of the country’s neighbours was not to validate the electoral register but to determine disputes and violations of the law that might arise in the course of registration of voters.

The Chairman of the occasion, Justice Vincent C.R.A.C Crabbe also noted that the 2012 election was a very critical one in the history of the country hence participants had a lot to do to calm down nerves during decision making.

Justice Samuel Marful-Sau, a Justice of the Appeal Court and the Director of the JTI, urged participants to share their knowledge and experiences to help in the effective implementation of the law.