We will address the presidential petition within 42 days – Justice Dotse

General news for Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Source: angelonline.com.gh

2020-11-25

Supreme Court Justice Justice Jones Dotse has said that the country’s supreme court is ready to address any presidential petition that may arise after the 2020 elections within 42 days.

The chairman of the Election Manual Review Committee said that any lawsuit challenging a presidential election will only be allowed to contestants in the election and only against the winner and the Election Commission.

“There is a good writing in the manual that indicates that the Supreme Court is proposing that in case there is a dispute, it will not exceed 42 days,” he said.

This is to avoid a repeat of the 2012 election petition that lasted for eight months.

Governance experts said the lengthy petition affected the country, as the current government was too cautious in making certain decisions.

The business community was also affected, as many investors wanted to be sure of the direction the country was taking before investing in the country.

Speaking at the launch of the fourth edition of the Election Adjudication Manual, Judge Jones Dotse revealed that the processes for who can sue and join the lawsuit have been detailed.

“And there are important changes in the law in the sense that now if you are interested in questioning or initiating a presidential electoral dispute, you must have been a candidate in that election and you can only sue the one who has been declared the winner by the EC and the CE, that’s it, ”he added.

For his part, the president of the Supreme Court, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, indicated the willingness of the judiciary to deal with all demands related to the elections.

“Although not all will agree with our decisions, I can assure you that all of them (politicians) have seen and have been motivated by the national interest based above all on the judicial principles that the judiciary defends oriented to the sanctity of our country, ” he said.

He added: “Our judges had sufficient training to improve their ability to handle disputes that may arise after these elections.”

The Chief Justice assured “Ghanaians of the thoroughness, professionalism and patriotism with which we approach and carry out our duties that would never change.”