The disqualified presidential nominee of the All People’s Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga, has sued the Electoral Commission (EC) for the second time, praying the court to direct the Commission to include him in the December presidential race.
Confirming the latest move to Citi News’ Sixtus Dong Ullo, Mr. Ayariga said his party is also seeking interpretation of some sections of the election regulation law CI 94.
“I am not going to hold this country to ransom; but I want the court to take justice. Madam Osei should prove to Ghanaians that it was a technical knockout because so far as I am aware, APC was not knocked out based on technical issues but it was knocked out based on personal issues.” “I think by close of day, we should get all the information relevant to the public.
As a matter of fact, we are not happy. Some of you have seen the video of Madam Charlotte Osei’s remark about Hassan Ayariga.
The APC is the only political party that has 275 offices across the nation and it is the only party that has been denied the opportunity to contest the elections.”
Background
Hassan Ayariga was disqualified from the race because some of the subscribers to his nomination form also endorsed other candidates for the contest.
Mr. Ayariga was disqualified together with eleven other aspirants, some of who have since been reinstated in the contest, after the Progressive People’s Party’s (PPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, secured a court victory that inured to the benefit of some other disqualified aspirants.
Mr. Ayariga, who broke away from the People’s National Convention (PNC) which he had led in the 2012 elections, subsequently sued the EC at the High Court, where he prayed it to order the EC to retain him in the race. Although he won that case, the EC took the matter to the Supreme Court, after losing a similar suit against the Progressive People’s Party’s (PPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom.
The Supreme Court in its judgment on Monday November 7, 2016, extended the deadline for submission of nomination forms allowing the 12 disqualified presidential nominees to amend their forms.
However, Mr. Ayariga again failed to meet the requirement, and was thus denied by the EC.
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