A private legal practitioner Prof Kwaku Asare has said that the courts have a duty to set dates for hearing cases that do not affect the subject matter of litigation.
“The court too has a duty to set a hearing date that does not destroy the subject matter of the litigation,” Prof Asare wrote on Facebook after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) filed for an abridgement of time at the courts to have the suit filed by flagbearer aspirant Dr Kwabena Duffuor against the party heard on Friday, May 12.
The NDC had prayed to the High Court to have the suit heard on Thursday, May 11.
But, according to the Director of Legal Affairs, Abraham Amaliba, the court decided to accommodate the application on Friday, May 12 after giving the pretext that Thursday was impossible.
Speaking on 3FM‘s Hot Edition on Wednesday, May 10, Mr Amaliba said most “of the things for which [Dr Duffuor and his camp] have gone to court are borne out of ignorance. They need education”.
He told host Alfred Ocansey on Wednesday, May 10 that it was possible that most of the grievances enlisted by the Duffuor camp could have been settled without any court intervention.
Dr Duffuor had secured an injunction against the primaries, slated for Saturday, May 13, after complaining about flaws in the album.
According to the writ, filed on Tuesday, May 9, the number of constituencies given on the hard drive was 220 instead of 228.
“The Plaintiff adds further that an initial verification of the said 220 constituencies on the hard drive given to his representatives by the 2nd Defendant established basic errors and inaccuracies that render the Photo Album Register inaccurate and unreliable for free, fair and credible elections.”
The High Court had scheduled Monday, May 15 for deposition from the plaintiff. This would result in the indefinite postponement of the primaries.
The Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) was served with the injunction notice on Wednesday and so, wrote to the NDC to dissociate from the polls.
Mr Amaliba insists that the album is complete and available for the team of Dr Duffuor and the other two candidates.
He said a meeting with Dr Duffuor’s camp on the earlier petition it raised on Tuesday was abandoned for no reason.