The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has filed a writ at the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of Dr Peter Appiahene as a member of Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC).
Dr Appiahene is accused of having affiliations with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to the NDC MP as per the dictates of the 1992 constitution, an individual is not eligible to be an EC member if they are a “known sympathizer, a member, or openly affiliated or identified with a registered political party in Ghana.”
In March of this year, President Nana Akufo-Addo swore in three new members of the electoral management body, including Dr Appiahene.
That appointment was met with stiff resistance from three civil society organizations, namely the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), the Star-Ghana Foundation, and the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI), calling for Dr Appiahene’s resignation amid claims his appointment was unconstitutional.
The suit filed by the South Dayi MP is seeking a court order to revoke Dr Appiahene’s appointment.
Some of the reliefs include:
- “An order revoking the appointment of the First Defendant by the President of the Republic of Ghana as a member of the Second Defendant Commission.”
- “An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the First Defendant from acting as or holding himself out as a member of the Second Defendant Commission pending the determination of the suit.”
- “An order of perpetual injunction restraining the First Defendant from acting as or holding himself out as a member of the Second Defendant Commission.”
