Two leading members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP): Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, together with National Democratic Congress (NDC) stalwart, Dr Christine Amoako-Nuamah, have sued the major political parties in the country.
The three statesmen accused the political parties — the NDC, NPP and Convention People’s Party (CPP) — of holding their internal elections using unconstitutional delegate systems.
The suit, which was filed at the Supreme Court by their lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, invoked the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to challenge the internal voting structures of Ghana’s major political parties.
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, Professor Frimpong-Boateng and Dr Amoako-Nuamah asked the court to interpret articles of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana pertaining to the organisation of primaries, including Article 55.
“The nature of the relief sought is as follows: i. A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of the Preamble and Articles 1(1) and (2), 17, 33(5), 35(6)(d), 42 and 55(5) of the 1992 Constitution, the election of a political party’s presidential and parliamentary candidate(s) constitutes a core element of the party’s internal organisation within the meaning of Article 55(5) of the Constitution.
“ii. A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of the Preamble and Articles 1(1) and (2), 17, 33(5), 35(6)(d), 42 and 55(5) of the 1992 Constitution, the internal organisation of a political party must be structured in a manner that ensures equal political participation and equal voting rights of its members in the selection of the party’s presidential and parliamentary candidate(s),” parts of the writ sighted by GhanaWeb read.
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Read all the reliefs they are seeking below:
i. A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of the Preamble and Articles 1(1) and (2), 17, 33(5), 35(6)(d) 42 and 55(5) of the 1992 Constitution the election of a political party’s presidential and parliamentary candidate(s) constitutes a core element of the party’s internal organisation within the meaning of Article 55(5) of the Constitution.
ii. A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of the Preamble and Articles 1(1) and (2), 17, 33(5), 35(6)(d) 42 and 55(5) of the 1992 Constitution, the internal organisation of a political party must be structured in a manner that ensures equal political participation and equal voting rights of its members in the selection of the party’s presidential and parliamentary candidate(s).
iii. A declaration that, on a true and proper interpretation of the Preamble and Articles 1, 17, 33(5), 35(6)(d) 42, 55(2), 55(5), 63 and 93 of the 1992 Constitutiondemocratic principles governing the internal organisation of political parties require political equality, meaningful and broad participation of members in decision-making, accountability of leadership to the membership, and substantially equal and direct voting rights for members in good standing in the election of the party’s presidential and parliamentary candidates.
iv. A declaration that the delegate-based Electoral College system established under Article 13 of the Constitution of the Ist Defendant for the election of its presidential candidate, which confines or restricts voting to specified executives, office holders and delegates to the exclusion or material disenfranchisement of members in good standing of the party, contravenes the Preamble and Articles 1, 17, 33(5), 35(6)(d) 42 and 55(5) of the
1992 Constitution and is therefore unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.
v. A declaration that the Extraordinary Constituency Delegates Conference system established under Article 7 of the Constitution of the 1st Defendant for the selection or election of its parliamentary candidates, which confines voting to specified constituency executives, coordinators, polling station officers, elders, patrons and other delegates to the exclusion or material disenfranchisement of members in good standing of the party, contravenes the Preamble and Articles 1, 17, 33(5), 35(6)(d) 42 and 55(5) of the 1992 Constitution and is therefore unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.
vi. A declaration that the Electoral College system established under Articles 43 and 44 of the Constitution of the 2nd Defendant for the election of its presidential and parliamentary candidate, which confines or restricts voting to specified executives, office holders and delegates to the exclusion or material disenfranchisement of members in good standing of the party, contravenes the Preamble and Articles 1, 33(5), 17, 35(6)(d) 42 and 55(5) of the 1992 Constitution and is therefore unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.
vii. A declaration that the Constituency Branch Party Conference system and the National Delegates Congress system established under Articles 53, 96 and 77 of the Constitution of the 3rd Defendant for the election of its presidential and parliamentary candidate(s), which confines voting to specified executives, elders, officers and delegates to the exclusion or material disenfranchisement of members in good standing of the party, contravenes the Preamble and Articles 1, 17, 33(5), 35(6)(d) 42 and 55(5) of the 1992 Constitution and is therefore unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.
viii. A consequential order striking down and declaring unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect all provisions of the constitutions, rules, regulations or electoral arrangements of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants, to the extent that they restrict or confine the election of their presidential and parliamentary candidates to limited Electoral Colleges, delegate bodies or similar structures, or otherwise exclude or materially disenfranchise members in good standing of the parties from voting in elections for their presidential candidates.
ix. An order directing the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants to amend their respective constitutions, rules and electoral arrangements to adopt procedures for the election of their presidential candidates or flagbearers that conform to the democratic principles required under Article 55(5) of the 1992 Constitution and ensure the equal, direct and meaningful participation of members in good standing in such elections.
Χ. An order directed at the 4th Defendant, in the exercise of its supervisory and regulatory mandate under the Constitution and Act 574, to ensure and enforce the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Defendant’s compliance with the Preamble Article 55(5) of the Constitution and Section 9(a) of Act 574 in respect of their internal elections.
xi. Such further or consequential orders as this Honourable Court may deem just.
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