The High Court has the power, the authority, or the jurisdiction to hear or determine all Parliamentary petitions.
Unlike the Supreme Court which determines petitions from the Presidential election.Example (2020),John Dramani Mahama, the petitioner vs The Electoral Commission, the first respondent, and Nana Akufo Addo, the 2nd respondent.
They are both superior courts of judicature. But the Supreme Court is the highest of all courts in the jurisdiction. Its decisions bind all other courts.
After the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, there were petitions from some of the defeated candidates against their victors.
Petitions came from Savelugu, Zabzugu, Evalue Gwira, Techiman South, Assin Central, and Sefwi Wiaso constituencies and others.
These petitions were against either the New Patriotic Party or the National Democratic Congress candidates, the leading political parties in the country.
The high courts located in those constituencies have given judgments/rulings in dismissing all the petitions against all the elected candidates.
Such rulings or judgments tell me one thing, protect the box at the polling station and in all public elections,else if the EC announces the results and you are declared a loser, it will take a huge miracle to get the results overturned in your favor.
So far, most of the rulings stated that administrative errors are not serious issues or matters to affect the EC’s already declared results.
The Tamale High Court in its ruling yesterday, 20th January 2023, declared the NDC Member of Parliament for Salvulugu as duly elected and quashed the petition brought by the defeated NPP candidate.
The same court also declared the NPP Member of Parliament for Zabzugu as duly and legally elected and threw away the petition brought by the NDC.
Quayson and the MP for Evalue Gwira matters were determined on the bases of their nationalities.
They were both accused of their refusal to relinquish their citizenship of other countries: Canadian and American citizenship respectively, and not the administrative errors committed by the EC.
The name of the game is evidence, not strength, confrontation,n, or lies.
As stated, political parties and candidates in any public election should make sure that they put their houses in order,r, especially at the polling stations.
Let me appeal to the Chief Justice to create more high courts and entreat the presiding adjudicators to fast-track all petition matters that are brought before them.
The procrastination on those petitions affects the work of the supposedly elected members and makes their commitments to the work of the House(Parliament) worrisome.
We have chosen the path of Democracy and we have no option but to follow the rules of engagement and enforce them according to the precepts.
No Condemnation of The Judiciary, This Time Round
So far, none of the parties has criticized or condemned the judiciary,
They are both satisfied with the outcomes of the judgments.
In this political and partisan arena, when one wins a matter before a court, the courts with are independent, no influence from any quarters, when it is the other way round, then a suspicious character has influenced the outcome.
An essential ingredient of Democracy is the independence of the Judiciary and the right of all persons to use the court in the determination of their disputes and not to resort to unconventional means of dispute resolution.
Also, the losing party should continue to use the appeal route and not the throw of castigation and insults of the judiciary.
The way to go is the reverence to the law and the establishment of evidence in all matters. Ahmed Osumanu Halid, Nima-441