High Court dismisses Jacob Osei Yeboah
A suit by an Independent Presidential Candidate, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah, which sought to compel the Electoral Commission (EC) to delete names of deceased, minors and ‘undesirables’ from the register through a process of exhibition verification has been dismissed by the Accra High Court.
Advertisement
The application for judicial review also sought an order from the court which will compel the EC to fully enforce the Political Parties Law (Act 574).
However in a judgement, which lasted less than a minute, the court, presided over by Ms Justice Gifty Agyei-Addo, threw out the case in its entirety.
“The application for judicial review by writ of mandamus is dismissed and all the reliefs sought fail,” the court held.
The court then directed the parties to apply for its judgement at the registry.
It also awarded a GH¢500 cost against Mr Yeboah.
Reaction
Reacting to the court’s decision in an interview with journalists, Mr Yeboah said he welcomed the judgement.
He said he had wanted the court to direct the EC to enforce the Political Parties Act but if the court in its wisdom was of the view that the EC was already implementing the law, so be it.
“I think the court is being cautious and I do agree with the court looking at the sensitivity around the case. I am pretty sure that posterity will actually give the true verdict,” he noted.
The arguments
Mr Yeboah had prayed the court to compel the EC to delete the names of deceased, minors and any ‘undesirable’ through exhibition verification process.
He also sought an order to compel the EC to re-open/extend the exhibition of the voters register for another seven days for intended voters to verify their names in order to cast their votes during the December 7, 2016 polls.
However, the legal team for the EC argued that the reliefs sought by Mr Yeboah were extensively determined in the case of Abu Ramadan versus the commission at the Supreme Court.
Another point it raised was that the presidential aspirant failed to use the right procedure in making his application.
“In respect of mandamus applications, there had to be a prior demand and outright refusal by a respondent, but in the present application, the applicant did not demonstrate to the court that there was a demand and refusal to warrant the present application.”