News:
June 3, 2015
Nominee to the Supreme Court of Ghana, Mr Gabriel Pwamang has proposed that the schedule of the Electoral Commission (EC) in an election year be openly published and gazetted for all political parties to follow.
He is certain that when the EC implements such a move it will go a long way to eliminate suspicions and agitation by the political parties as they will also draw their programmes according to the schedule of the EC.
Lawyer Gabriel Pwamang who made the suggestion while answering questions at his vetting in Parliament House on Wednesday stated that currently there is too much discretion for the EC to decide at will, what programmes it wants to undertake in an election year, without the input of the parties.
He said in the past the EC has undertaken several activities during an election year, a situation that always created tension among themselves and the political parties.
“During the last election year, the EC undertook so many activities such as demarcating of new constituencies, gazetting them, and opening of nominations among other programemes which created problems for them. He noted”
Nearly a month ago, the political parties who raised red flags for not being consulted by the EC prior to the opening of registration for persons who had turned eighteen years, forced the EC to suspend the exercise.
Touching on how to expedite election petition hearing in the future, Lawyer Gabriel Pwamang who is also the former General Secretary of the Peoples National Convention (PNC), proposed the amendment of the constitution to set a time limit for the hearing and determination of an election petition which has been filed.
He asserted this will ensure that the Judges at the Supreme Court work with a specific time in mind to enable them speedily adjudicate on the matter and give their ruling.
The December 2012 election petition case filed by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in January 2013 took eight months to be decided by the Supreme Court, a period during which anxiety greeted the entire country and slowed foreign investments into the country in the process.
Ghanamps.gov.gh