THE REPUBLIC vs. THE HIGH COURT, GENERAL JURISDICTION 6, ACCRA EX-PARTE DR. ZANETOR A. RAWLINGS

The matter arose from a dispute over the eligibility of Dr. Zanetor A. Rawlings to contest the National Democratic Congress parliamentary primaries for the Klottey Korle constituency ahead of the 2016 general elections. The 1st interested party, the incumbent Member of Parliament who lost the primaries to her, challenged her qualification in the High Court on the ground that she was not a registered voter at the time of the party primaries. While supervisory proceedings seeking certiorari against interlocutory decisions of the High Court were pending, the Supreme Court, acting suo motu, isolated a constitutional question on the meaning of article 94(1)(a) of the 1992 Constitution, namely when the requirement that a person be a registered voter becomes operative for purposes of qualification to be a Member of Parliament. Portion of judgment: “The 1st interested party took an action at the High Court to nullify the election of the applicant on ground that she was not a registered voter when she took part in the party primaries and was thus unqualified… It was when the court was deciding that application that it concluded that a question of interpretation of Article 94(1)(a) of the 1992 Constitution had arisen…”

JUDGMENT MAJORITY OPINION BENIN, JSC: - The original matter that brought the parties herein before this court was an application invoking our supervisory jurisdiction for an order of certiorari to quash some decisions of the High Court, Accra. The incumbent Member of Parliament for the Klottey Korle constituency, who is the 1st interested party herein, lost the opportunity to contest for the seat again on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2016 general elections because he was defeated in the party primaries by the applicant herein. The 1st interested party took an action at the High Court to nullify the election of the applicant on ground that she was not a registered voter when she took part in the party primaries and was thus unqualified. During the pendency of the action before the High Court, certain decisions were taken by the said court which the applicant brought before this court to quash. Hence the title to the case as stated above. It was when the...