THE REPUBLIC vs. THE HIGH COURT, GENERAL JURISDICTION 6, ACCRA EX-PARTE; DR. ZENATOR A. RAWLINGS, HON. NII ARMAH ASHITTEY AND NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS

The applicant, Dr. Zenator A. Rawlings, won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries for the Klottey Korle constituency, defeating the incumbent MP, Hon. Nii Armah Ashitey. The incumbent challenged the applicant's eligibility on the ground that she was not a registered voter at the time of the primaries, thus unqualified under Article 94(1)(a) of the 1992 Constitution. The High Court entertained the suit to nullify the applicant's election as parliamentary candidate. The applicant sought to quash certain High Court decisions and the Supreme Court raised the constitutional question of when a Ghanaian citizen is disqualified from being a Member of Parliament due to non-registration as a voter under Article 94(1)(a).

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 court was deciding that appl...