The 12 presidential nominees who were
disqualified by the Electoral Commission from the December 7 polls, will know
their fate today [Wednesday, November 9, 2016].The EC disqualified them
due to errors on their nomination forms, but the Supreme Court on Monday ordered
the commission to extend the nomination period and give the parties a hearing –
which has been adhered to.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Head of
Communication at the EC, Eric Kofi Dzakpasu, said “per the ruling of the Supreme
Court, by the close of day on Wednesday, they [EC] should be able to come out
with a decision on all the forms which we have received.”
They include
Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Nana Konadu
Agyeman Rawlings of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Dr. Edward Mahama, of
the People’s National Convention (PNC) among others.
“Most of the
aspirants whose nominations were invalidated were able to collect their
nomination on Monday, and on Tuesday; two candidates also came to pick their
nomination forms so the commission waited for them to submit,” he added.
In
all, ten political parties amended their nomination forms at the EC on
Tuesday.
The Commission is also expected to conduct a ballot for the
presidential candidates ahead of the December elections on Thursday November 10,
2016.
Background
Some of the 12 candidates including Dr. Nduom,
PPP, Dr. Hassan Ayariga, APC, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, NDC and two others
who were disqualified from the presidential race, sued the EC demanding an order
from the court to quash the commission’s decision.
The EC subsequently
went to the Supreme Court after an Accra High ordered it to allow the PPP to
correct errors on the forms of Dr. Nduom.
But the Supreme Court ordered
the EC to give the disqualified candidates a hearing and also extend the
nomination period for two days.
Parties storm EC to correct
errors
The EC adhered to the Supreme Court’s order, but pointed out new
errors on the nomination forms of the disqualified candidates.
Meanwhile,
ten out of the 12 disqualified aspirants were able to amend their nomination
forms at the close of the extended nomination period on Tuesday, November 8,
2016.
New errors in the interest of political parties
Mr. Dzakpasu
also defended the decision by the commission to announce new errors it spotted
on the nomination forms of the disqualified candidates.
“Per our
understanding or the orders of the Supreme Court, we were to give the candidates
a hearing, and in that hearing we were to give them the opportunity to identify
the errors on their forms and then make the necessary corrections.
So it
was in all fairness to the candidates themselves that in the process of giving
the hearing some of these infractions were identified and brought to their
notice and as a matter of fact they saw it and accepted it in good faith and
agreed that these are infractions, errors or emissions which can be corrected
and therefore agreed to take it and correct.” He added. |
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