The 12 presidential nominees who were disqualified by the Electoral Commission from the December 7 polls, will know their fate today [Wednesday, November 9, 2016].
The EC disqualified the due to errors on their nomination forms, but the Supreme Court on Monday ordered the commission to extend the nomination period and give the parties a hearing – which has been adhered to.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Head of Communication at the EC, Eric Kofi Dzakpasu, said “per the ruling of the Supreme Court, by the close of day on Wednesday, they [EC] should be able to come out with a decision on all the forms which we have received.”
They include Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Dr. Edward Mahama, of the People’s National Convention (PNC) among others.
“Most of the aspirants whose nominations were invalidated were able to collect their nomination on Monday, and on Tuesday; two candidates also came to pick their nomination forms so the commission waited for them to submit,” he added.
In all, ten political parties amended their nomination forms at the EC on Tuesday.
The Commission is also expected to conduct a ballot for the presidential candidates ahead of the December elections on Thursday November 10, 2016.
Some of the 12 candidates including Dr. Nduom, PPP, Dr. Hassan Ayariga, APC, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, NDC and two others who were disqualified from the presidential race, sued the EC demanding an order from the court to quash the commission’s decision.
The EC subsequently went to the Supreme Court after an Accra High ordered it to allow the PPP to correct errors on the forms of Dr. Nduom.
But the Supreme Court ordered the EC to give the disqualified candidates a hearing and also extend the nomination period for two days.
The EC adhered to the Supreme Court’s order, but pointed out new errors on the nomination forms of the disqualified candidates.
Meanwhile, ten out of the 12 disqualified aspirants were able to amend their nomination forms at the close of the extended nomination period on Tuesday, November 8, 2016.
New errors in the interest of political parties
Mr. Dzakpasu also defended the decision by the commission to announce new errors it spotted on the nomination forms of the disqualified candidates.
“Per our understanding or the orders of the Supreme Court, we were to give the candidates a hearing, and in that hearing we were to give them the opportunity to identify the errors on their forms and then make the necessary corrections. So it was in all fairness to the candidates themselves that in the process of giving the hearing some of these infractions were identified and brought to their notice and as a matter of fact they saw it and accepted it in good faith and agreed that these are infractions, errors or emissions which can be corrected and therefore agreed to take it and correct.” He added.
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