Renowned broadcast journalist and host of Good Morning Ghana, Dr. Randy Abbey has chastised the Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Torkonoo and the Supreme on its failure to act on the suit filed against the Electoral Commission of Ghana on its limited registration exercise by the National Democratic Congress and other four political parties.
According to Dr. Randy Abbey, he was very worried when he heard that the Supreme Court could not determine the date for the matter that was filed by the five political parties due to the unavailability of the Chief Justice.
He also expressed his dismay when he heard later that the date that was set by the Supreme Court to hear the matter would be after the Electoral Commission had conducted its limited voter registration exercise.
“My point is that how can the absence of the Chief Justice be the reason a litigant in a matter cannot have a return date? I remember former President Mahama tweeted about this issue, the fact that they had filed a case the previous day, and the absence of the chief justice has been used as the reason they have not been given a return date. And hours later one of the lawyers received a text message from the register that they had been given 17th October as their return date”.
Dr Randy Abbey
Randy Abbey Call On Supreme Court to Act In The Public Interest
Dr Abbey expressed worry about the lackadaisical attitude the Supreme Court has often used to handle matters that are brought against members and institutions of the current government and indicated that the suit against the Electoral Commission is no exception.
He recounted a similar case that was filed against President Akuffo Addo’s decision to dismiss the former Auditor General, Yaw Domelovo which like several other cases took almost two years before the case was finally determined, are instances the Supreme Court has deliberately failed to act simply because such issues are against the current government.
He therefore called on the Chief Justice to pay critical attention to all matters that are brought before it especially issues that are of public interest to build public confidence in the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Sammy Gyamfi, the National Democratic Congress Communications Officer denounced the claims that the Supreme Court has never heard a matter when it is on legal vacation. He cited the case that was filed by a private citizens, Ransford France to challenge the Electoral Commission’s decision to create 45 new constituencies in 2012 as a matter which was heard and determined by the Supreme Court while the court was on legal vacation.
The main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) together with the Convention People’s Party (CPP), All People’s Congress (APC), Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) and Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP) filed a suit against the Electoral Commission of Ghana in the Supreme Court challenging its limited registration exercise ongoing.
According to the political parties, the decision was made as a result of the Electoral Commission’s illegitimate and arbitrary decision to limit its impending voter registration operation to its only district offices.
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