Prophet Nkansah Sues EC

AN ACCRA High Court will, on November 5, 2012, decide on whether the Electoral Commission (EC) can go on with the December 7 elections in view of the EC�s decision to disqualify the presidential candidate for the New Vision Party, Prophet Daniel Nkansah. The court presided over by Sir Justice Dennis Adjei, a Court of Appeal judge with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, will also decided whether issues raised by the party were those that could be handled by a High Court or the Supreme Court. This followed an application by the political party seeking an interlocutory injunction to restrain the EC from printing the presidential ballot papers for the election till the determination of a suit it has filed challenging the disqualification of its presidential candidate, Prophet Daniel Nkansah. The party contended that the EC�s rejection of its candidate�s nomination forms was unlawful. J.K. Yeboah, counsel for the plaintiff, prayed the court to grant the application on grounds that the party would suffer great hardship after it had won its case because the EC would have to accept his nomination forms as the presidential candidate, even though the presidential candidates had already balloted for their positions on the ballot paper. According to Mr. Yeboah, the plaintiff�s case was one that could make the wheel of law stop the EC from any further movement because there was no justifiable reason for the EC to refuse to accept the nomination form. The EC, represented by James Quarshie Idun, denied the claims made by the plaintiff that its forms were rejected on flimsy grounds and prayed the court to dismiss its application. He explained that the plaintiff did not complete the form as they were full of blank spaces. He argued that the EC had �the constitutional duty to conduct the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on December 7, 2012 and any delay in carrying out the necessary preparations for the election would be detrimental to the whole nation�. In the substantive suit, the New Vision Party is seeking three reliefs; �a declaration that the refusal of the defendant to accept the presidential forms of the plaintiff is unlawful; an order compelling the defendant to accept the presidential nomination forms of the plaintiff and same register; a further order directing the defendant to add the name of the plaintiff to the presidential ballot papers for the December 2012 presidential election�. The plaintiff, in its statement of claim, narrated that on October 18, 2012, it presented four copies of its presidential nomination forms to the EC at its headquarters, Accra for registration. According to the plaintiff, the EC officials, after going through the forms, detected that some portions on the duplicate forms to be filled by the Adaklu District in the Volta Region had not been done. It said when its attention was drawn to it, it quickly filled the two names there, making the forms fully completed, explaining that the two people from Adaklu had filled the original copies of the forms but the omission resulted when the party officials were copying from the original to the duplicate. The chairman of EC was shown the original copies which had been filled correctly but he still went ahead and rejected the forms. The party contended that even though the chairman of the EC was shown the original copies to confirm that the forms had been completed and also the duplicate had been corrected long before the EC officials called for submission, the commission, without any justifiable grounds, refused to accept them. The plaintiff contended that �the refusal by the EC to accept the presidential forms is not only unlawful but constitute a grotesque act of arbitrariness�.