Former President John Mahama’s bid to lead the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the next general election has been hit with a second lawsuit few days to the party’s primaries on February 23.

A former NDC constituency secretary in Trobu in Accra, Edmund Palmer, has initiated a legal process to restrain Mr Mahama from contesting in the party’s upcoming presidential election.

Edmund Palmer wants the High Court to stop the former President from pursuing his bid to be elected as a presidential candidate of the NDC in his capacity as a former president of the Republic of Ghana, without the permission of Parliament.

Citinewsroom.com reports that Mr Palmer is seeking “an order of perpetual injunction restraining John Mahama from purporting to seek re-election howsoever as president of the Republic of Ghana without the permission of Parliament pursuant to Article 68(2), 68(3), 68(4), 68(5), 68(6),68(7) and 68(9) of the 1992 Constitution.”

He also wants the court to order Mr Mahama “to wind up the activities of his campaign office that was established for the purpose of seeking to coordinate his activities in his quest to become flagbearer/presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress.”

Mr Palmer further wants Mahama to stop all fundraising activities in support of his re-election bid without the permission of Parliament.

First suit

This is the second legal suit seeking to scuttle the former President’s bid to lead the opposition party in the 2020 elections.

Ghanaian businessman, Stephen Agyeman, has also initiated a legal process to challenge the eligibility of Mr Mahama to stand for presidential elections in Ghana. Stephen Agyeman is praying the High Court to declare that Mr Mahama, in raising funds to support his bid to be elected as a flagbearer/presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in his capacity as a former President of the Republic of Ghana violates Article 68 (2) of the 1992 Constitution. He also seeks a declaration that the defendant in raising funds to support his bid to be elected as a flagbearer/presidential candidate of the NDC in his capacity as a former President of the Republic of Ghana, without the permission of Parliament, had contravened Article 68 (2) of the 1992 Constitution. He is further praying the court to hold that former President Mahama’s establishment of a campaign office for the purpose of seeking to coordinate his activities in his quest to become flagbearer/presidential candidate of the NDC constitutes an office of emolument or profit within the context of Article 68 (2) of the 1992 Constitution and same having been established without Parliamentary permission was in contravention of Article 68 (2) of the 1992 Constitution. Another declaration he seeks is that pursuant to Articles 66 (1) and 66 (2) of the 1992 Constitution, the defendant was not qualified as a candidate to stand for re-election as President of the Republic of Ghana on the ticket of the NDC is also being sought by the plaintiff. Emoluments A declaration that the defendant’s act of seeking to be elected presidential candidate of the NDC was in breach of Article 66 (1) and 66 (2) of the 1992 Constitution on account of the fact that the defendant had had the benefits and emoluments of an ex-president twice and thus a third attempt was in violation of the letter and spirit of Article 66 (1) and 66 (2) of the 1992 Constitution. Additionally, the plaintiff wants the court to declare that pursuant to Articles 68 (2), 68 (3), 68 (4), 68 (5), 68 (7) and 68 (9) of the 1992 Constitution, the former President Mahama cannot purport to seek re-election as President of the Republic of Ghana. A legal practitioner, Mr Simon Okyere filed the writ of summons on behalf of the plaintiff in Accra on Friday, February 15, 2019.