Ghana Votes

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

NCCE criticised for failing in duties

The Legal Advocacy Foundation, a non-governmental organisation promoting public interest in legalities, has expressed disappointment in the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) for failing in its mandate to educate and explain to the general public the verdict of the Supreme Court on the 2012 election petition.


It said it was the civic responsibility of the NCCE to educate the populace on the legalities exercised by the Supreme Court judges, as well as the judgement but lamented the situation where the NCCE had remained in its sheath "since August 29, 2013, the day the verdict was delivered".

The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the foundation, Lawyer Dr Maurice Kwabena Ampaw, who stated this at a press conference in Kumasi, said, "This is very disappointing and unfortunate. The NCCE has failed in its mandate to explain to the public the nitty gritty of the verdict of the Supreme Court."

On that note, he called on the NCCE, the National Peace Council (NPC), traditional and religious leaders, foreign agencies and civil society organisations that had the nation at heart to support the noble cause of explaining the verdict to the ordinary Ghanaian.

"In order for the masses to be in tune with such legal issues as the court's verdict, it is imperative for relevant agencies to school the public adequately so that pertinent issues could easily be appreciated without much difficulty," Dr Ampaw stated.

He hinted that the foundation would soon file a suit at the law court to challenge the constitutionality of the Supreme Court (SC), the highest court of the land.

According to the foundation, challenging the constitutionality of the court would help clear all doubts and ambiguities in the minds of the ordinary Ghanaian who had amply demonstrated their readiness to be part of a legal exercise and the rule of law.

Dr Ampaw said the challenge was necessitated by the  verdict of the SC on the 2012 presidential election petition.

In the petition hearing, the petitioners – Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Mr Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey, all of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), went to the SC to seek annulment of votes and declare the first petitioner, Akufo-Addo, President.

Dr Ampaw said though the powers of the SC were enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, the supremacy of the law emanated from the citizenry (the people) and was implicitly implied as well in the same Constitution, and quoted Article 1 (25) to buttress his point.

To him, the SC could have asked counsel for both the petitioners and the respondents to appear before it for an agreed short period of two weeks to engage the court in a legal argument rather than the eight-month long evidential proceedings coupled with legal addresses.

Source: Daily Graphic

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