Dr Afari Gyan – EC Boss
A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court yesterday unanimously dismissed an application for the nullification of the Constitutional Instrument (CI 78), which created the 45 new constituencies.
Accordingly, the highest court of the land has given the Electoral Commission (EC) the green light to conduct elections in the 45 constituencies, making the total number of parliamentary seats 275 in the country.
The Supreme Court was presided over by Justice William Atugubah, with Justice Professor Samuel Kofi Date-Bah, Sophia Adinyira, Rose Owusu, Annin Yeboah, Sule Gbadegbe, Vida Akoto-Bamfo and other members.
Plaintiff Ransford France had filed an application at the court challenging the power of the EC to go ahead with the creation of the constituencies without first laying before Parliament a constitutional instrument indicating clearly the mechanism and formular by which it intended to undertake that exercise.
Represented by lawyers Joe Ghartey and Godfred Dame, France had sought six reliefs including a perpetual injunction restraining the EC from laying before Parliament any Constitutional Instrument creating additional constituencies and/or revoking the Representation of the People (Parliamentary Constituencies) Instrument, 2004 [C.I. 46], until it laid before Parliament a Constitutional Instrument which clearly set out the processes to be adopted by the EC.
The EC, he contended, had infringed upon Article 296 (c) which stated that “where the person or the authority is not a judge or other judicial officer, there shall be published by the constitutional instrument or statutory instrument, regulations that are not inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution or that other law to govern the exercise of the discretionary power.”
However, in giving the unanimous judgment, Justice Date-Bah, who read the ruling of the court, indicated that the EC did not breach the provisions of article 296 (c), saying the court did not see any provision which CI 78 infringed upon.
The plaintiff’s application was dismissed because the judges said it was not well founded in law, arguing that the fact that the EC did not adhere to provisions of 296 (c) did not make CI 78 invalid.
According to them, strict adherence to 296 (c) would lead to “a nuclear meltdown” in government, as nothing would go on as fast as possible in governance.
The court recounted that all previous CIs were created without adhering to provisions of 296 (c) of the constitution and therefore nullification of CI 78 would mean that thousands of decisions of such nature since 1969 would be nullified.
Aside this, the court said it would be too cumbersome for all public bodies to adhere to laid down procedures before implementing anything.
In summing up, Justice William Atugubah quoted article 1 (1) of the constitution which states that “the sovereignty of Ghana resides in the people of Ghana in whose name and for whose welfare the powers of government are to be exercised in the manner and within the limits laid down in this constitution.”
Speaking about the supremacy of the constitution, Justice Atugubah pointed out that the constitution should not be static or rigid but meet modern trends.
The supreme law of the land, he further averred, should be like a living organism that moved with changing times and be in the interest of the people.
“How will the good of Ghanaians be served with the invalidation of CI 78, especially when the time, logistics and other expenditures have already been incurred in the creation of the new constituencies?” Justice Atugubah asked rhetorically.
According to him, all arms of government performed duties for the benefit of the sovereign people of Ghana and that the creation of the constituencies would go a long way to benefit Ghanaians.
He said even the judiciary, in exercising its discretionary powers, should do that in the interest of the sovereign people of Ghana.
Consequently, Justice Atugubah said, “By a unanimous decision, the plaintiff’s case is dismissed.”
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