The Supreme Court has dismissed a case challenging the removal of Charlotte Osei as Chairperson of the Electoral Commission.
The
seven-member panel presided over by Justice Julius Ansah ruled that the
case by veteran journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako did not properly
invoke the jurisdiction of the court.
Mr.
Baako had argued that the grounds stated for the removal of Charlotte
Osei, which bothered mainly on procurement breeches, had nothing to do
with her core functions as Chairperson of the EC.
The
Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper sought a
declaration that “upon a true and proper construction of Article 146 (1)
of the 1992 Constitution, a petition for the removal of the chairperson
of the EC, pursuant to the provisions of Article 146, was only valid if
such a petition alleged stated misbehaviour or incompetence relating to
the performance of the core constitutional functions of the chairperson
of the EC.”
“However,
the court determined that the ground for stated misbehaviour is not
limited to the duties of the EC Chairperson but her public behaviour,”
Joy News Kwesi Parker Wilson reported.
Speaking
to Joy News after the proceedings Kweku Baako said although he
disagreed with the opinion of the apex court, he accepts the verdict.
Deputy
Attorney General, Godfred Dame, expressed his satisfaction with the
ruling, saying that procurement was an integral part of the duties of an
office holder such as the EC boss.
Ghana/myjoyonline.com/ohenebakayy@gmail.com
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