The Supreme Court has prohibited the High Court from hearing a suit challenging the candidature of NDC parliamentary nominee for Klottey Korle constituency, Dr. Zanetor Rawlings.
In a 4 -1 majority decision, the Supreme Court said the High Court judge erred in his interpretation of Article 94 (1)(a) of the constitution.
This article is at the heart of the legal drama surrounding the election of Dr. Zanetor Rawlings during the governing National Democratic Congress' parliamentary primaries in November last year.
The provision states: (1) Subject to the provisions of this article, a person shall not be qualified to be a Member of Parliament (MP) unless; (a) he is a citizen of Ghana, has attained the age of twenty-one years and is a registered voter;
The incumbent Klottey Korle MP, Nii Armah Ashittey who went to court after losing the primaries, insists that Dr. Zanetor Rawlings was not a registered voter before the elections.
He wants the trial judge, Mr. Justice Kwaku T. Ackah Boafo to squash the entire process as illegal.
The judge ruled that once Dr. Zanetor had put herself up as a contestant, she was caught by Article 94(1)(a) which required that she must be a registered voter at the time of her participation in the parliamentary primaries.
Dissatisfied with the process, Godwin Tamakloe who is counsel for Dr. Zanetor Rawlings escalated the legal dispute to the Supreme Court last month.
According to the lawyer, the judge erred in law when he wrongly assumed jurisdiction to interpret Article 94(1)(a) of the Constitution.
The function of interpretation of the Constitution is a Supreme Court responsibility that should not have been exercised by the High Court judge, Zanetor's lawyer argue.
In a ruling Thursday, May 19, the Supreme Court has upheld the position of Zanetor’s lawyers.
Presided over by Justice Atuguba, the Supreme Court ordered a stay of proceedings at the apex court. It effectively takes over the case from the lower court.
The Supreme Court is now set to “determine when a citizen of Ghana by virtue of non-registration can be said to be disqualified from contesting as MP”.
The has case been adjourned to June 2, 2016.
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