Zanetor challenges jurisdiction of High Court to hear Klottey Korle suit
The Supreme Court is now the new battleground for the suit challenging the eligibility of Dr Zanetor Agyeman Rawlings as the 2016 National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Klottey Korle Constituency.
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Dr Zanetor last Wednesday filed an application at the court challenging the jurisdiction of the High Court hearing the case.
The Supreme Court will sit on the case on April 26, 2016.
The application comes in the wake of a similar application asking the High Court to throw out the suit against her because the court has no jurisdiction to hear the case.
According to her, the court had no jurisdiction to determine whether she was eligible or not to be a Member of Parliament because it was purely a constitutional provision which required an interpretation by the Supreme Court.
The High Court, presided over by Mr Justice Kweku Ackaah Boafo, in a ruling on March 22, 2016, however, dismissed the application.
Certiorari
Dr Rawlings’ legal team is, therefore, asking the Supreme Court to order a certiorari to review and subsequently quash the ruling of the High Court because, according to them, the presiding judge “erred in law when he assumed jurisdiction to interpret an article of the Constitution”.
In view of this, the High Court has stayed proceedings on the case pending the determination of Dr Rawlings’ application at the Supreme Court.
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Delaying tactics
Meanwhile, Nii Armah Ashitey, the incumbent MP for the constituency and plaintiff in the case, has described Dr Rawlings’ application at the Supreme Court as a tactic meant to delay and frustrate the suit at the High Court.
Speaking to the media during an interaction with his supporters at the NDC constituency office at Klottey Korle, he said the application was just to buy time in order to allow Dr Rawlings to register during the limited voters registration exercise scheduled for April 28 to May 8, 2016.
“I do not, however, think Dr Rawlings’ going to register during the exercise will cure the defects that we are challenging. This is because the NDC’s rules state that no member of the party shall qualify to contest a parliamentary seat if that member fails to satisfy the requirement of a Member of Parliament as stipulated in the Constitution,” he said.
Suit
Nii Ashitey claims in his suit that Dr Rawlings is not a registered voter and, therefore, not qualified to be elected as the parliamentary candidate for the NDC.
His legal team is, therefore, seeking the High Court to declare her election null and void and order a rerun between Nii Ashitey and another contender in the election, Nii John Coleman.