Ghana's apex court orders reinstatement of 13 presidential aspirants

Ghana’s Supreme Court, has ordered the Electoral Commission (EC) to give thirteen disqualified presidential aspirants the opportunity to correct mistakes on their nomination forms.

The apex court further ordered that the deadline for submission of forms for the presidential race be extended to close of day on Tuesday (October 8). The initial final date of filing was supposed to be ‘‘not later than 12 noon on Monday, October 10, 2016.’‘

The EC went to the court to seek finality on an Accra High court ruling that ordered it to give one of the aspirants the opportunity to ammend their forms. Two of the five disqualified candidates had won cases for reinstatement onto the ballot.

The EC Chair, Charlotte Osei, announced the disqualification of the thirteen aspirants at a news conference on October 10 citing their failure to meet the necessary requirements in filing their nomination forms.

Among the disqualified candidates on Monday are two-time aspirant and businessman Papa Kwesi Nduom, and former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.

Different reasons were given for the disqualification of each aspirant including incomplete details on forms, failure to meet legal requirements during filing process and failure to pay the required fee within the stipulated time.

Others were disqualified because they were fraudulently endorsed by unqualified subscribers and the EC said it will “refer the matter of the possible forgeries to the Ghana Police Service and the Attorney General for investigation and prosecution.”

President John Dramani Mahama qualified to run for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) including the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) candidate Ivor Kobina Greenstreet and an independent presidential candidate Jacob Osei Yeboah completed the list of the four aspirants cleared earlier by the EC.

Ghana is supposed to head to the polls for general – presidential and parliamentary – elections. This will be the country’s seventh polls since the return to multi party democracy in 1992.