The National Democratic Party (NDP) has described as unfair the Electoral Commission’s recent announcement that some 33 errors have been found on the nomination forms of its flagbearer, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings.
According to the party, the actions by the Commission were “biased based on resentment, prejudice and personal dislike” towards the party and that it would not be succumb to the attempts by the Commission to victimise the party.
The EC on Monday following the Supreme Court’s directive that it should offer the disqualified aspirants the opportunity to correct the mistakes on their nomination forms, announced that some 33 new errors had been identified on the forms of the NDP’s flagbearer.
The EC in disqualifying Mrs Rawlings said one subscriber who endorsed her forms was not a validly registered voter and had illegally registered twice.
But in a statement signed by the party’s Secretary General, Mohammed Frimpong, the party accused the EC of trying to make ridicule of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“It is surely unfair when alleged wrongs are sneaked up upon us so late in the day and in a clear attempt to stultify the ruling of the Supreme Court and make a mockery of it and all the good people of Ghana,” the statement said.
The party also dared the EC “to show to Ghanaians that none of the “jack-in-the-box” issues it is raising suddenly and belatedly about our nominations, do not exist in the nominations of the parties/candidates that it claims to have passed to stand for the elections.”
According to the party, it would have no option than to return to court should the EC fail to “immediately desist its oppressive tactics and with immediate effect reverse this illegal demand of us.”
Below is the NDP’s full statement
EC INTENSIFIES OPPRESSIVE AND ILLEGAL TACTICS AGAINST NDP IN SPITE OF COURT RULING
Today, after the Supreme Court decision, we went to the Offices of the Electoral Commission for the purpose that the Supreme Court directed. It would be recalled that the EC’s problem with our Nomination Form was that there was one subscriber whom the EC had claimed to be a double registrant and as such was not qualified to subscribe to our Nomination Forms. This was stated clearly in the EC’s Press Statement and Letter to us dated 10th October 2016.
The EC made us wait for almost 5 hours while the EC met with its lawyer behind closed doors. Then, much to our surprise, the EC, under the guise of now holding a hearing, is claiming that in addition to the sole reason for purporting to disqualify us, they have now discovered 33 new “concerns and discrepancies,” which they now label as “irregularities” and describe further as “different signatures”. This alleged new discovery has been made without any forensic proof that those signatures could not have been signed by the same people. Our officers strongly challenged this absurdity, but what the EC is insisting upon is that between now and 5:00pm tomorrow (8th November 2016), we should produce 33 persons from almost every region in the country to verify their signatures before the EC. The EC is threatening to disqualify us on this new and never before mentioned ground.
We are sickened by this turn of events. On 10th October 2016, the EC claimed that our Nomination Paper was “rejected” for one reason and one reason alone. It was therefore on that basis that we challenged the disqualification to court. After fighting the matter in court for all of this while, the EC has suddenly and unexpectedly shifted the goal posts in a manner that shows that all the EC wants to do is to disqualify us from participating in the coming presidential election by any means possible.
This is not right. This cannot be legal. This is a clear violation of our human rights.
This cannot be what the Supreme Court meant when it ordered the EC to (1) give us a hearing and (2) permit us to comply with the law that gives us the right to an opportunity to amend our documents. That right to opportunity has to include a fair opportunity. It is surely unfair when alleged wrongs are sneaked up upon us so late in the day and in a clear attempt to stultify the ruling of the Supreme Court and make a mockery of it and all the good people of Ghana.
We reject this new trick of the EC. We reject this clear attempt at victimisation by the EC. The EC has shown its hand, that it is actuated and driven, not by a desire to deliver a “world-class election” in Ghana, but simply to hand the Presidency to a selected candidate.
We dare the EC to show to Ghanaians that none of the “jack-in-the-box” issues it is raising suddenly and belatedly about our Nominations, do not exist in the nominations of the parties/candidates that it claims to have passed to stand for the elections. The EC has not been fair to and candid with us. Its actions have been arbitrary, capricious, and biased based on resentment, prejudice and personal dislike. Definitely, its acts are not in accordance with due process of law.
We are calling upon the EC to immediately desist its oppressive tactics and with immediate effect reverse this illegal demand of us; else we would have no option but to return to court. The EC should note that in our case in court, there is still a pending interlocutory injunction application that the court has ruled should abide the hearing of the substantive action. Once that is still pending, the EC stands in contempt of court if it should act or take any steps that prejudice the outcome of the case, pending its final determination.
The Electoral Commission is designed to foster democracy. Instead this institution has become an oppressive tool deliberately working against Ghana’s democracy under the chairmanship of Charlotte Osei. We should not allow any person to do what the EC is doing with the potential of derailing our current and future democratic processes during elections.
MOHAMMED FRIMPONG
SECRETARY GENERAL
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