The Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, has asked the Electoral Commission (EC) to grant the disqualified aspirants in the upcoming presidential elections to be heard if they were not given the opportunity as being said.
According to the private legal practitioner, giving the people the opportunity to be heard is the right way to go, and doing that, per his analysis, does not mean the said individuals would not be subjected to the regulations.
Speaking on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, September 21, 2024, the legislator indicated that the Supreme Court has set a precedence that each party involved in a matter should be given the opportunity to be heard, indicating that “the Supreme Court was only reminding us of a principle that is a basis of all laws that give each party a hearing.”
“If a party comes and you say ‘you did not do ABC’, you should give him the opportunity to also explain why and how? At the end of the day, you have still the right to take a decision based on balanced experience expressed by the parties. If they were not given the opportunity, then obviously they should go back to court,” he indicated.
His comments follow the disqualification of some 11 presidential aspirants by the Electoral Commission without allegedly specifying their mistakes and giving them the opportunity to correct the said errors.
The Electoral Commission on Friday, September 20, 2024, disqualified Bernard Mornah of the People’s National Convention (PNC) and Janet Nabla of the People’s National Party (PNP) from contesting in the December 7, 2024, presidential elections.
This announcement was made in a communiqué issued by the EC on Friday, September 20, 2024.
Other presidential candidates disqualified by the EC include Nana Stephens Adjepong, Paul Perkoh, James Kwesi Oppong, John Enyonam Kwakwu Kpikpi, Dr. Samuel Sampong Ankrah and Dr. Nii Amu Darko,
The rest are Samuel Apea-Danquah, Desmond Abrefah, and Kofi Asamoah Siaw of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP).
After the Filing of Nominations, which took place from September 9 to September 13, 2024, the EC conducted a detailed examination of the submitted Nomination Forms to ensure compliance with the legal requirements.
The EC also confirmed that several other candidates, 13 of them, successfully completed the nomination process and are qualified to contest in the 2024 Presidential Election.
The decision, according to some of the candidates, was made without the EC declaring the specific errors they made and they were also not given the opportunity to be heard on the said errors made.
Election 2024: All 10 Presidential hopefuls who were disqualified
