APC’s Ayariga wins case challenging his disqualification to contest by EC…
An Accra High Court has ruled in favour of the Flagbearer of the All People’s Congress (APC) Hassan Ayariga, in the case challenging his disqualification from the 2016 presidential race by the Electoral Commission. Court has ordered the EC to give Ayariga an opportunity to correct errors on his nomination form.
See: PPP wins Case Against EC; Nduom Allowed To Correct Nomination Form Errors
In her ruling, the court presided over by Justice Babara Charway, described the EC’s decision to disqualify the APC flagbearer as ‘absurd’; adding that the Commission acted unfairly.
The EC on October 10, disqualified APC’s Ayariga, PPP’s Nduom, NDP’s Konadu and 10 other presidential aspirants [See Full List], from contesting in this year’s elections, due to failure to meet certain candidacy requirements. Most of the EC’s reasons centred on errors made by the candidates in the filling of their respective nomination forms.
Hassan Ayariga was disqualified from the contest because some of the subscribers to his nomination also endorsed other candidates in the contest.
EC’s disqualification had raised agitations among affected political parties, most of whom opined that the EC’s action was an abuse if powers.
Lawyers for APC’s Ayariga had accused the EC of deliberately disqualifying their candidate. They argued that though the commission gave them an opportunity to correct the errors made, it did not grant them an opportunity to correct the errors it used as basis for invalidating Ayariga’s nomination.
After much deliberations in court, APC’s Ayariga wins the case challenging his disqualification to contest in the 2016 election. The presiding judge Justice Charway, indicated that EC boss Charlotte Osei, should have been more patient in dealing with the matter, especially as it concerns elections.
This becomes the second suit the EC has lost regarding its disqualification of some presidential aspirants ahead of the elections. Court’s ruling on Ayariga’s case follows a similar order which was given by an Accra High court to the EC to allow the Flagbearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, to amend his nomination form.
Another disqualified aspirant, Konadu Rawlings however, lost her disqualification case against the EC, after court quashed it on grounds of procedural incompetence.
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