PPP's suit against EC thrown out


An Accra High Court has declined to grant the Progressive People's Party, (PPP) application for interlocutory injunction against the collection of deposits by the Electoral Commission. 

The court presided by Justice Daniel Mensah has deferred his reasons to next Tuesday, the 11th of October. 

Counsel for the PPP, Dennis Owusu Ofosu-Appiah argued that the deposit of 50 thousand cedis for the Presidential candidate and 10 thousand for the Parliamentary is not warranted by law. 

The party claimed it does not have the two point eight million cedis required by the EC to participate on the elections more so when it risks losing it to the state in the situation where the PPP fails to secure a specified percentage in the elections. 

The lawyer argued further that their right as a political party to participate in the elections will be lost if the court did not restrain the EC from taking the deposits.

It is the case of the PPP that the failure of the Commission to make a regulation to back the filing fees should not waive the party's right to take part in the elections. 

In a response, counsel for the EC, Thaddeus Sory, opposed the application for interlocutory injunction arguing that the payment of the deposit is lawful. 

He said the other political parties have not complained about the deposit and should therefore not be made to suffer from the action of the PPP. 

Responding to an argument by Mr. Thaddeus that the PPP violated the legal rule by going ahead to pay the deposit for the presidential, 

Mr. Ofosu-Appiah said the payment was to validate their nomination requirements. 

Hearing of the substantive case has been adjourned to Tuesday.

GBC