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This
intervention by the Supreme Court is intriguing
By Dr. Michael
J.K. Bokor
Thursday, May
19, 2016
Folks, if you have
been monitoring proceedings in the matter
between Dr. Zanetor Rawlings and the incumbent
NDC MP for Klottey Korle (Nii Armah Ashietey),
you can tell that a lot is happening to make the
hearing of the case more interesting and
revealing than expected.
Even though Nii
Ashietey was roundly trumped at the NDC's
primaries to choose a candidate for Election
2016, he has insisted on legally frustrating
Zanetor. The matter has been going on for some
time now until the Supreme Court's intervention,
which is itself interesting for the new twists
that it has put on it.
It is reported that
the Court has "ruled that the High Court erred
in law when it assumed jurisdiction over Article
94 clause 1(a) of the 1992 Constitution".
As such, it has
"suspended the case to determine whether the
said constitutional provision becomes
operational when a person declares his or her
intention to be an MP at the primaries level or
whether it is when the Electoral Commission
opens nominations and the person files the
relevant documents". (See
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Supreme-Court-stops-High-Court-from-hearing-Zanetor-case-440091).
MY COMMENTS
Certainly, the Supreme
Court has added a huge complexion to the matter.
If it is now telling us that the matter is
"constitutional", it means a lot. I hope the
matter can be resolved in time to allow for
campaigns.
I am not a lawyer nor
am I an expert on such "constitutional" issues;
but common sense tells me that if Zanetor wasn't
a registered voter at the time she filed to
contest the primaries and consequently won, she
cannot be deemed as legitimately elected
(assuming that the basis of one's eligibility to
contest is the requirement to be a registered
voter).
If the Court goes for
the other aspect regarding the opening of
registration and Zanetor's prompt action to
legitimize her quest by registering (long after
she had contested illegitimately in the
primaries), it will be very interesting to know
why.
In truth, once she
wasn't a registered voter, it should be clear
that she didn't qualify to participate in the
electoral contest, which should automatically
nullify her election to contest Election 2016 on
the NDC's ticket. Or.....?
In the long, if the
NDC’s own constitution favours her, what will
the interpretation to be done by the Supreme
Court mean? Is there a disconnect between the
NDC’s constitution and the national 1992 one? If
so, what were the framers of that constitution
thinking at the time they were drafting the
party’s constitution? And should the Supreme
Court find fault with the aspect of the NDC’s
constitution about Zanetor’s status that Nii
Ashietey is contesting, will the NDC revise its
constitution?
What is the lesson for
the other political parties? (And here, I have
in mind the suit that Paul Afoko and Sammy
Crabbe have filed to challenge their suspension.
There is a constitutional issue here too).
The long and short of
it is that the Supreme Court’s intervention will
help us see issues in a broader scope so the
various political parties can fine-tune their
constitutions to fit into the national one. Only
then can there be symmetry for things to be done
properly to refine our democracy. After all, if
there is trouble in the political parties,
whatever happens at the national level involving
elections and the EC will be roped in too.
Ultimately, the internal affairs of the parties
have a bearing on national and local politics,
which is why I welcome the Supreme Court’s
intervention in the NDC’s case.
The implications of
this suit by Nii Ashietey are clear and
shouldn't be missed by the NDC leaders and
followers. A divided house cannot stand on its
own to prevail over others. Once Nii Ashietey
has dug in to go the whole hog in pursuing his
agenda, it is clear that he has planted a
time-bomb that is ticking off as Election 2016
approaches. He is bent on having his way, even
though rejected by his own constituents. If he
wins the legal battle, the NDC's Zanetor will
lose out even though Nii Ashietey cannot
automatically become the bona fide candidate for
the NDC.
There is a lot to do
before being so. And that lot can't be to the
NDC's good. Clearly, Nii Ashietey lost the
primary because his own constituents lost hope,
trust, and confidence in him. He couldn't
"deliver". Thus, if he wins the legal battle and
manages to represent the NDC, it is obvious that
those who rejected him at the primary won't turn
round to give him the much-needed support to
retain the constituency for the NDC. Once
rejected, always rejected for Election 2016.
What is worse than being torpedoed by the
party's own followers in his case?
And if he chooses to
go independent, his supporting NDC members will
endanger the party in his bid. If Zanetor is
disqualified too and chooses to go independent,
the NDC suffers, even though she can collapse
herself into the NDC fold if she wins the seat.
The problem in this
Klottey Korley Constituency affects the NPP too.
We can tell how Philip Addison and Nii Nortey
have split the party's ranks there. What at all
is there in this Klottey Korle constituency to
cause this schism in both the NDC and the NPP? I
don't know. The truth, though, is that
happenings there are opening up new chapters in
our constitutional democratic experiment.
I shall return…
• E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
• Join me on Facebook
at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor to continue
the conversation.
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