Nii Kpakpo Somoa Addo, the lead counsel for the 18-year-old Precious Ayittah seeking to cite officials of the Electoral Commission for contempt of court, on Thursday went ballistic in reaction to comments by the Electoral Commission (EC).

The EC has suggested that the court suit by the complainant to compel the Commission to extend the limited voter’s registration exercise to electoral centres instead of limiting it to district centres is plain mischief.

According to the Commission, the legal fees being used to pursue the case could have sorted out Precious Ayittah’s transportation to and from the nearest district registration centre.

Infuriated by the comment, Nii Somoa Addo retorted that it does not lie in the mouth of the Commission to prescribe for his client what she should do and how to go about it.

“It does not lie in the mouth of the person who is suppressing and violating somebody’s right to tell the person how he or she should vindicate those rights. It doesn’t lie in your mouth. The Ghanaian constitution is very clear, public officers are supposed to exercise discretionary power within the confines of law without being capricious, without being whimsical, with due process and in utter good faith.

“Is this the kind of public service that Jean Mensa is exhibiting, by seeking to suppress the rights of voters to vote? It does not lie in her mouth after seeking to suppress the rights of our clients to complain about the mode by which our client seeks to vindicate his rights. She’s not the law court and she’s not above the law. That is the point we want to drive home across,” he fumed on JoyFM’s Top Story, Thursday September 14..

This occurred just hours after security personnel at the Electoral Commission's office in Accra had prevented court bailiffs from serving court processes on the EC Commissioners for the third time.

Security officers stationed at the premises claimed that they had received specific instructions to deny access to anyone until next week.

According to the lead counsel, EC Chairperson Jean Mensa’s conduct is untenable and flies in the face of the laws of Ghana.

“There is no institution or person in Ghana above the law. The Electoral Commission is a public place, under what circumstances does Madam Jean Mensa believe that she has the audacity and the right to prevent court processes and court bailiffs from entering the public institution to be served service?” he questioned.

He noted that while he is only representing Precious Ayittah in court, an estimated three million Ghanaians who had reached the eligible age to cast their votes are also being affected by the EC’s “whimsical and capricious” decision.

“She’s not the only person who’s affected by this whimsical and capricious abuse of power by the Electoral Commission. She’s not the only one. Indeed there’s the estimate that there are over 3 million people who are eligible to register as voters.

“Why should one person determine the fate of 3 million Ghanaians when she’s the servant of the people and is a public servant? We should not allow this. We should not make public servants demigods to the extent that when court processes are being sought to be served on her she decides whether she will receive the court processes or not. What kind of institutions are we building in this country?” he wondered.