THE REPUBLIC vs. THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION EXPARTE: UNITED FRONT PARTY & ANOR [2020]DLHC10102

Date	2020-11-09
Suit No.	SUIT NO.CR 0051/2021
Citation No.	[2020]DLHC10102

HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE RUBY ARYEETEY

JOHNSON NORMESINU WITH….FOR SAMUEL CODJOE FOR APPLICANT/APPLICANT

HOPE AGBOADO FOR JUSTIN AMENUVOR FOR RESPONDENT/RESPONDENT APPLICANTS PRESENT

[2020]DLHC10102
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION<o:p></o:p>EXPARTE: UNITED FRONT PARTY &amp;
ANOR<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT, (CRIMINAL COURT 1) ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

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padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">SUIT
NO.CR 0051/2021&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATE:
9TH
NOVEMBER, 2020<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>JOHNSON NORMESINU
WITH….FOR SAMUEL CODJOE FOR APPLICANT/APPLICANT<o:p></o:p>HOPE AGBOADO FOR
JUSTIN AMENUVOR FOR RESPONDENT/RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

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PRESENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE RUBY ARYEETEY<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;">

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</div>&nbsp;The Applicants/Applicants (hereinafter called the
Applicants) are praying this court to exercise its powers under Order 25 of C.I
47 for an interlocutory injunction restraining the Respondent/Respondent, which
is the Electoral Commission (hereinafter called the Respondent) from acting on
or, and or proceeding with and or giving effect in any shape or form to its
decision contained in the press release dated 19th October, 2020. In
that press release, Respondent also disqualified the 2nd Applicant
herein from contesting the upcoming Presidential Election. <o:p></o:p>The antecedents leading to this application can be
garnered from the affidavit in support of the Applicants application which I
will summarise here. <o:p></o:p>Sometime in September 2020, Respondent informed the
general public of its intention to open nominations for the upcoming elections
from 5th October, 2020 to 9th October, 2020. It
subsequently invited individuals and political parties who were desirous to
contest the election to file the nominations of their Presidential aspirants. The
1st Applicant filed the nomination forms of 2nd Applicant
in this case as its Presidential aspirant, delivered same in quadruplicate to
Respondent and paid the filing fee as required by law. 2nd Applicant’s
nomination was endorsed by two registered voters from each of the 216 (two
hundred and sixteen) District Assemblies in the country. After nominations had
closed, Respondent acting through its Chairperson on 19th October,
2020 held a press conference and in a press release disqualified the 2nd
Applicant without giving him a hearing. The grounds given for this
disqualification was based on the allegation that three of the persons who
nominated 2nd Applicant denied endorsing his nomination. As a result
the matter was referred to the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) for
further investigation. The names of the persons were given as Samuel Kwame
Borlu, James Kow Ackon and George Bamfo.<o:p></o:p>After the press release, 2nd Applicant
contacted these three persons and they all refuted Respondents allegation.
Aggrieved by Respondent’s decision an application for Judicial Review together
with a prohibitory injunction restraining Respondent from conducting the
election without the participation of the Applicants was filed in this court.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;In their
submission and statement of case to this court pending the determination of the
application for certiorari, Counsel for the Applicants stated that the
Respondent has commenced action to implement its decision disqualifying 2nd
Applicant from contesting the election by conducting balloting of positions
without the participation or involvement of Applicants and in addition stated
its intention to print the ballot papers without the name and participation of
the Applicants. Counsel further submitted that one of the cardinal principles
or factors which a court must consider in order to grant or refuse an
application for interim injunction is whether or not there exist a legal right
or an equitable right which has to be protected by the court. In their
statement of case they referred to the case of OWUSU &amp; OWUSU ANSAH &amp;
ANOR [2007-2008] citing the statement of the Supreme Court to buttress their
case.&nbsp; That the Applicant filed the
nomination of the 2nd applicant to contest the upcoming presidential
election they submitted was not in doubt. However, the respondent without
giving the 2nd applicant a hearing proceeded to disqualify him from
contesting the election. The basis for respondent’s decision being that some
three persons which it named in the press release attached as Exhibit NAB2 at
page 10 denied endorsing the 2nd Applicant whereas the said persons
vehemently denied the statement of Respondent and have sworn a statutory
declaration to that effect which has been attached as Exhibit NAB 5.<o:p></o:p>Counsel again submitted that the failure by Respondent
to give 2nd applicant a hearing before disqualifying him from
contesting the election is a breach of his rights to natural justice and also a
breach of Article 23 of the Constitution, which breach entitles him to the
grant of this application, relying on the decision in AWUNI V. WAEC [2004]
SCGLR 471. <o:p></o:p>They again argued that Respondent breached the
procedure set out in Regulation 9 of C.I 127 when it failed, refused and neglected
to inform Applicants about the alleged denial of 2nd Applicant’s
nomination by the th</main>