Court dismisses Bernard Mornah’s suit against Electoral Commission
An Accra High Court has refused and dismissed an application filed by the flagbearer of the People’s National Convention (PNC) Bernard Mornah to overturn the decision of the Electoral Commission (EC) to disqualify him.
The court dismissed his application on Monday, October 21.
Bernard Mornah was seeking a declaration that the decision of 1st respondent in the case (Jean Mensa) and the 2nd respondent (Electoral Commission), to disqualify him without indicating any specific ground for his disqualification, and without offering the Applicants the opportunity to be heard, constitutes a blatant breach of the 1st Applicant’s fundamental right to a hearing.
He was also seeking “A declaration that the disqualification of the 1st Applicant from contesting the 2024 Public Presidential Elections is illegal as same contravenes Articles 12(1) and (2), 21(3), 23, 34(1), 35(4), 37(2)(b), 37(4), 40(c) and (d), and 41(b) and (d), and 55(3) and (10) of the 1992 Constitution, and Regulation 9 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.1.127).
“A declaration that the Respondents failed to comply with due process requirements imposed on them by law when they disqualified the 1st Applicant from contesting the December 7, 2024 Public Presidential Elections without furnishing the 1st Applicant with the exact and particular reasons for his disqualification and without offering him the opportunity to remedy same.
“A declaration that the 1st and 2nd Respondents, as an administrative body and an administrative official respectively, together acted unreasonably, unfairly, capriciously, arbitrarily and in patent breach of their duties imposed on them by articles 23 and 296 of the 1992 Constitution in disqualifying the 1st Applicant from contesting the 2024 Public Presidential Elections.
“An order to bring to this Court the decision of the Respondents dated September 20, 2024 which decision disqualified the 1st Applicant as a Presidential Candidate for the 2024 Public Presidential Elections, for the purpose of having same quashed.”
The Electoral Commission (EC) on Friday, September 20 cleared thirteen candidates and declared them eligible to contest the December polls.
Out of the 24 presidential candidates who filed nominations, Bernard Monarh was amongst 11 candidates who were disqualified by the EC. Most of the candidates disqualified were Independent candidates.
“Following the successful conduct of the Filing of Nominations from the 9th of September to the 13th of September, 2024, the Commission instituted a thorough examination of the Nomination Forms submitted by the Candidates to ensure conformity with requirements as set out in law,” the press release by the EC announced.
source: 3news
