His lawyer, Martin Kpebu is requesting the court to rule that the EC’s decision, outlined in a letter dated September 20, 2024, disqualifying Apea-Danquah from the 2024 Presidential election without specifying the grounds or offering him a hearing, is a violation of his right to a fair hearing.

The applicant is also seeking a declaration that his disqualification is unlawful, arguing that it violates several constitutional provisions, including Articles 12, 21, 23, 34, 35, 37, 40, 41, and 55 of the 1992 Constitution, as well as Regulation 9 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I.127).

Apea-Danquah, along with Bernard Mornah of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Janet Nabla of the People’s National Party (PNP) and eight other candidates were disqualified.

Source: Adomonline

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Apea-Danquah, who was among 11 candidates disqualified due to irregularities in their nomination forms, is challenging the EC’s decision in court.

In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, October 10, Apea-Danquah is seeking a court order of certiorari to overturn the Electoral Commission’s ruling.

He contends that his disqualification was unjust and is calling for the decision to be reversed.

Additionally, he is pursuing a mandamus order to compel the EC to reinstate him as a valid presidential candidate for the 2024 general elections.

Apea-Danquah’s legal action is not isolated, as other disqualified candidates are also contesting the EC’s decisions.

Also, the flagbearer of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Bernard Anbataayela Mornah, has filed a lawsuit against the EC after being similarly disqualified from the presidential race.

The flagbearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, has joined in taking legal steps, challenging his disqualification.

Both candidates argue that, their removal from the race was unfounded and are seeking legal redress to secure their place on the ballot.

The disqualification of these candidates has sparked widespread discussions about the fairness and transparency of the Electoral Commission’s vetting process.

Critics argue that the EC must ensure that all candidates are given a fair chance to meet the requirements before disqualification decisions are made.

In a letter dated September 20, addressed to EC Chairperson Jean Mensa, his legal team requested that the matter be resolved “within three days of receipt of the letter, failing which we will explore other legal avenues for redress.”

His legal team maintains that, their client was “wrongfully disqualified and seeks immediate redress to partake in the election.”

The Electoral Commission had disqualified several presidential hopefuls from the upcoming elections, citing their failure to correct errors on their nomination forms.

This announcement was made by Jean Mensa during a press briefing in Accra last Friday.

According to the EC, all disqualified candidates were given ample time to rectify the issues identified in their submissions but failed to meet the necessary requirements.

Among those disqualified are Bernard Mornah of the People’s National Convention (PNC) and Janet Nabla of the People’s National Party (PNP). Others include Nana Stephens Adjepong, Paul Perkoh, James Kwesi Oppong, John Enyonam Kwakwu Kpikpi, Dr. Samuel Sampong Ankrah, and Nii Amu Darko.

Also, Samuel Apeah-Danquah, Desmond Abrefah, and Kofi Asamoah Siaw of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) were also disqualified.

The EC emphasized that the disqualification process was conducted in accordance with electoral regulations, ensuring fairness and transparency.

EC Chair Jean Mensa noted: “Mr. Samuel Apea-Danquah was presented with a number of issues to resolve, including not filing a tax certificate for his Vice Presidential candidate, missing pages from the form, and incomplete particulars for some of his supporters.

“Unfortunately, though he was provided the opportunity to correct this, he was unable to do so, and the committee recommended his disqualification.”

However, Apeah-Danquah’s legal team disputes this assertion, stating that their client had completed all corrections and submitted them within the deadline.

They have provided a detailed account of the events, along with supporting evidence, and are awaiting a response from the EC.

He maintains that, he fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for eligibility.

Mr Mornah was one of 11 presidential aspirants disqualified from contesting the December 7, elections.

In response, he has filed a lawsuit against the EC, asking the EC to restore him.

According to Mornah, the 1992 Constitution requires a presidential candidate to be at least 40 years old, of sound mind, and a registered voter—qualifications he met.

He also noted that he addressed all issues raised by the EC before his disqualification.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM show, Mr Mornah said, “I corrected any and every error the Electoral Commission stated, and you can refer to pages 9, 10, 37, 39, 42, 46, and 50. These were the pages the Commission identified as having incomplete particulars of my supporters.

“The incomplete particulars of my supporters included that, on one set of forms, we inadvertently omitted the date, on another, we omitted a telephone number, and on yet another, there was a transposition error where we meant to write 57 but wrote 75. We corrected those incomplete details and returned the forms to the Electoral Commission at the time they scheduled for me.”

He stated that the errors identified by the Electoral Commission were corrected.

Mr Mornah further noted that, unless the EC concealed some errors, they deliberately used undisclosed issues to disqualify his party without informing them beforehand.

“If that were the case, or if the Electoral Commission did not identify certain errors before they alerted us to correct our errors. How is their inadequacy supposed to be my liability?”

Source: Isaac Kafui Nyanyovor

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In a statement, Mr Ankrah confirmed receiving communication from the Commission, citing errors on his nomination forms as the reason for his ineligibility.

He remarked that many of the issues raised had already been addressed, making the disqualification unexpected.

He reassured his supporters that his team is currently exploring options to engage with the Electoral Commission in an effort to rectify the errors and resolve the matter.

Despite the setback, Mr Ankrah remains committed to his political campaign, stating that challenges such as this serve as steppingstones toward achieving greater success.

He reiterated his dedication to the cause of a “Second Independence” and his vision for a more affordable Ghana.

Mr Ankrah concluded by thanking his supporters for their continued backing and promised to keep them informed as the situation progresses.

According to him, this measure aims to prevent the disqualification of any aspirant due to time constraints, as happened in 2020 when five presidential aspirants were disqualified.

Speaking at the National Peace Council’s stakeholder forum to promote peaceful 2024 elections, the Deputy Commissioner emphasized this commitment.

“We are extending the days of nomination so that if there are certain challenges on the nomination forms of a particular candidate we would be able to resolve that before we put them on the ballot papers” he stated.

He noted that, the Commission has procured about 90% of the election-related materials needed for the 2024 elections.

The only remaining task is printing the ballot papers, which will be done after receiving the nominations.

Mr Tetteh emphasised that to ensure a very transparent election, all stages of the Commission’s processes must be observed.

“The processes are so transparent and at every stage of the process if you have a challenge there is an appropriate end you can put it through” he added.

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The Electoral Commission officer overseeing the registration process, Mrs. Fatima Kantom, disqualified the applicants for their inability to provide satisfactory proof of residence.

One of the disqualified applicants, Moses Ahoi, claimed to hail from Sefwi Wiawso but currently resides in Juaboso.

During the verification process, Ahoi was unable to provide adequate responses to questions posed by the EC officer regarding the location of funeral grounds and the duration of his residency in the town.

Consequently, he was denied registration and asked to leave the registration center.

Subsequent investigations revealed that two other individuals, Benjamin Asante and another unnamed individual, were also disqualified on grounds of insufficient evidence of residence.

Adding to the disqualification count, another individual was also barred from registration, bringing the total number of disqualified applicants to four.

This latest individual said he moved to the town just two months ago.

These disqualifications have sparked contentious debates among the major political parties operating in the area.

Ghana secured a final ticket with a run of 39.05s in the heats to reach the final but was bizarrely disqualified over what the Ghana Athletics Association described as ‘technical oversight.’

This explanation appears unconvincing to the Minister, and he has asked the Games Committee to present to his office a report of what caused the gaffe.

“On the earlier faux pas [of] 4×100 final race disqualification, I’ve asked the International Games Committee and the Chef de Mission to provide an exclusive report to my office about that incident,” he wrote on his Facebook page after extending a congratulatory message to the medal winners.

“Congratulations to Wahid Omar and Joseph Paul Amoah, who won bronze medals for Ghana in the Men’s Light Welterweight and 200m events respectively.

Paul Amoah won Ghana’s first medal in the 200m since 1974, and Africa’s first since 2006, when he finished third with a time of 20.49s.

Masawudu Mubarik, the disqualified opponent of Asawase Member of Parliament, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, has said the news of his disqualification was broken to him through a Whatsapp message.

He said the message came from the Regional Secretary of his party.

Mr Mubarick said though he humbly accepts the decision of the party, for now, he feels his disqualification by the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of his party was unfair and went against the democratic tenets of the National Democratic Congress.

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Mr Muntaka was declared the NDC’s parliamentary candidate for the Asawase Constituency for the 2020 general elections, unopposed, by his party.

The decision followed the disqualification of his only contender, Massawudu Mubarick, by the FEC.

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A release signed by General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, said the decision to disqualify Mr Mubarick followed the acceptance of the report of a Committee for Settlement of Outstanding Disputes, the Doe Adjaho Committee, at a FEC sitting on Tuesday, 3 September 2019.

But reacting to his disqualification on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen Wednesday, a distraught Mubarik said claims that he never held any position in the party was false.

He said he has never undermined Mr Muntaka as alleged by the party’s General Secretary.

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“I have served as a branch communications officer in Asawase Constituency from 2013 so all those allegations are false,” he noted.

Asked what his next step would be, Mr Mubarick said: “for now, I accept the decision of the party to disqualify me, however, I will listen to the grassroot on the next step.

He added that with Muntaka Mubarak as the candidate, it will be difficult for the NDC in 2020.

Source: Adomonline.com|Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy