PNC to resort to court over flag bearer exclusion
The People’s National Convention (PNC) will resort to the law court if the Electoral Commission (EC) fails to annul the disqualification of its flag bearer, Dr Edward Nasigri Mahama.
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The party gave the commission 48 hours to reverse its decision to disqualify the party’s 2016 flag bearer.
“Failure on the part of the EC to comply with the ultimatum would compel the party to take legal action against the commission, the National Chairman of PNC, Mr Bernard Mornah, said in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
He said a letter to that effect had been written to the EC through its lawyers, Atuguba and Associates.
According to him, the party had also instructed its lawyers to put the necessary legal documentation together in case the EC did not change its decision to disqualify Dr Mahama.
Background
The PNC’s Flag bearer, Dr Mahama, was one of the 12 presidential candidates whose nomination to contest this year’s election was rejected by the EC.
According to the Chairperson of EC, Mrs Charlotte Osei, the commission disqualified them because their documents failed to meet the required standards.
She mentioned forgery of signatures as one of the major issues that got most of the presidential candidates disqualified.
In Dr Mahama’s case, the EC explained that two subscribers to his nominations, also subscribed for another presidential candidate, which is against the rules.
PNC is not the only party to have issued an ultimatum to the EC, as the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and the National Democratic Party (NDP) also took the same steps, giving a 24-hour ultimatum.
A letter
In the letter, the PNC asked the EC to revoke its decision to disqualify their flag bearer or be dragged to court.
“We request that you revoke your letter of 10th October, 2016, forthwith, and in any event not later than 48 hours after receipt of this letter, and to hold the nomination forms of Dr Edward Nasigri Mahama duly submitted to you on the 30th of September, 2016, as sufficient for the purposes of the 2016 presidential elections,” the letter said.