IN an unprecedented fashion, the Supreme Court has ruled that all registered members of political parties in Ghana be allowed to take part in the election of parliamentary and presidential candidates for national elections.
By a 5-2 majority decision, the court, on Wednesday, effectively ended the Electoral College system which allows a handful of delegates to elect parliamentary and presidential candidates during internal elections.
The court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie held that the Electoral College system or delegates vote system breaches Article 55(5) of the 1992 Constitution, and therefore unconstitutional.
Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, both leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Dr Christine Amoako-Nuamah filed a suit at the Supreme Court asking, among other reliefs, that “the delegate system be declared unconstitutional.”
The plaintiffs argued that “the delegate-based Electoral College system which confines or restricts voting to specified executives 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.”
The plaintiffs asked the court to declare that upon a true and proper interpretation of the same provisions of the constitution, democratic 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.
They, therefore, asked the Supreme Court to declare that the delegate-based Electoral College system, established under the NPP Constitution for the election of its presidential candidate, which confines or restricts voting to specified executives, officeholders and delegates to the exclusion or material disenfranchisement of members in good standing of the party, contravenes the 1992 Constitution and is, therefore, unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.
They wanted similar reliefs for the NPP’s Extraordinary Constituency Delegates Conference system for the selection or election of its parliamentary candidates.
The plaintiffs also seek similar relief against the NDC and the CPP, which have similar Electoral College systems for the selection or election of their presidential and parliamentary candidates and other stated officers of the party.
The plaintiffs urged the apex court of the land to issue 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 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.
The plaintiffs further urged the court to direct the Electoral Commission to enforce Article 55(5) of the Constitution and Section 9(a) of the Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574).
It said the Commission had a duty to ensure that the internal organisation of political parties conformed to democratic principles.
Reacting to the ruling of the Supreme Court, Musa Tanko, Deputy Director of Election of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) welcomed the decision, adding that the party has a data of its membership and was ready to implement the court’s decision.
Mr Haruna Mohammed, the Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) said his party was well organised and would take steps to implement it.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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