Audio By Carbonatix
Tanko Rashid Computer, the NDC’s Deputy National Director of Elections and IT and CEO of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), has said the party "totally disagrees" with the Supreme Court's decision to restore the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Kpandai, while affirming its respect for the ruling.
His comments follow a 4-1 Supreme Court judgment on Wednesday that overturned a High Court order which had annulled the Kpandai parliamentary election.
The apex court’s decision reinstates the NPP's Matthew Nyindam as the lawfully elected Member of Parliament for the constituency.
The core of the NDC's disagreement, as explained by Tanko Rashid, is a constitutional question of jurisdiction.
He stated that the party is awaiting the court's full written reasoning on February 6 before determining its next steps.
“We accept the Supreme Court's decision. We are a law-abiding political party, but we disagree with the ruling. We disagree with the ruling totally. Totally disagree,” he said.
He argued that the Supreme Court should not have delved into the substance of the election petition itself.
Mr Nyindam’s application successfully argued that the election petition filed by the NDC’s candidate, Japheth Festus Gbede, was submitted outside the legally mandated 21-day period following the gazetting of the election results by the Electoral Commission (EC).
Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang was the sole dissenting judge on the five-member panel.
“Because if you look at… the enabling PNDC law 284, that talks of election petition. Under Article 99(1) of the Constitution, it is only the High Court that goes into an election petition matter,” he stated.
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