FTC to decide on Akpaloo

By Ivy Benson

 

An Accra Fast Track High Court (FTC) will on November 6, this year, rule on an order of “Mandamus” filed against the Electoral Commission (EC) by a disqualified presidential aspirant for the 2012 General Election.

Mr. Kofi Akpaloo, a Kumasi-based presidential candidate of the Independent People’s Party (IPP) has filed the application before the court, seeking an order to compel the EC to enlist him in the line-up of qualified presidential candidates to enable him take part in the 2012 presidential elections slated for December 7 after he was rejected by not complying with the EC’s directives.

The court presided over Justice U.P. Dery, fixed the date to deliver its ruling on the case after parties effected some amendments to their statement of case and indicating their reliance on the documents filed before the court.

Mr. Akpaloo and his political party have described the action of the EC as arbitrary and unreasonable. However, the EC denied all the assertions of the applicants and insisted that it had followed its rules and regulations in disqualifying the plaintiffs.

The I.P.P. and its Presidential Candidate, Mr. Kofi Akpaloo had gone to court to protest against the EC’s action of prohibiting them from taking part in this year’s presidential and parliamentary election.

According to the applicants, they had gone through all the due processes and requirement of his party and the EC to enable him contest for the 2012 presidential election but was however, rejected by the Commission.

Mr. Akpaloo, who is aggrieved with the decision of the EC to reject his nomination based on alleged non-compliance, noted that the action of the EC was a blatant refusal to accept his nomination forms.

He therefore noted that the EC acted arbitrarily, unreasonably and violated the 1992 Constitution that enjoins public officials to act fairly and reasonably in the discharge of their official functions to the public.

In his affidavit filed before the court, Mr. Akpaloo noted that the IPP had on March 30, this year, registered with the EC as a political party with the aim of contesting the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections to be held on December 7, this year.

According to the applicant, his party had diligently fulfilled all the requirements and conditions to be registered by the EC but was rejected by the election-conducting body on the basis that “certain portions of the nomination forms had neither been signed or thump printed”, when he presented his nomination forms to contest in the up-coming December election.

Mr. Akpaloo rejected the basis upon which he was disqualified from being a Presidential candidate in the up-coming election, asserting that his nomination forms were thoroughly completed and meticulously signed as directed by the EC.

 

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