Blame Mahama for delay in filing suit against EC - Ramadan

Former Youth Organiser of the People’s National Convention (PNC) Abu Ramadan is faulting President John Dramani Mahama for the delay in him filing a contempt suit against the Electoral Commission of Ghana over the interpretation on the May 5 judgement of the Supreme Court.

One of the plaintiffs in the landmark case, Mr Ramadan resolved to sue the Commission after it interpreted the judgement as affirming its autonomy and the status quo regarding the cleaning of the register.

On Thursday, May 26, however, one of the justices of the Supreme Court, Jones Dotse, explained that the judgement was “forthright” and “clear”, asking the Commission to remove names of NHIS-registrants and immediately giving them opportunity to re-register.

Though the Commission is yet to react to this seeming clarification from the Supreme Court justice, Mr Ramadan says he is waiting for the suspension of the strike by the Judicial Services Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) for him to head to the courts to cite the EC.

“My humble appeal since yesterday has been on the president to pay judicial workers [and] to take steps in resolving the problem between himself and the judicial staff,” he said on News @10 on Thursday.

He also asked the Chair of the EC, Charlotte Osei, to presume on the industrial action to comply with the Supreme Court ruling to avert him taking the legal action.

“I am hoping before the judicial workers resume their normal duties and call off the strike, she will find wisdom in implementing fully the orders of the court so that we don’t have another legal tussle on our hands.”

The workers declared strike on Friday, May 20 and have been holding discussions with the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations on the resolution of their grievances.

“As long they remain home, we don’t have the opportunity to file our suit.”

Asked about his motivation in filing the landmark suit in the first place, Mr Ramadan revealed how his party was frustrated by the parliamentary elections in the Sissala West Constituency in 2012.

According to him, many Burkinabes mysteriously with National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards thronged the Constituency, the home constituency of PNC’s founder, to vote.

The then DCE was plain by saying those voters were not whites but black Africans, he said.

“And you ask yourself, are we having an African election? We are not electing an AU president or ECOWAS president. We are electing president of Ghana."

But for that, Mr Ramadan maintained, the PNC would have won the seat.

"If the register is clean and we regularise the register and make it such that we have only Ghanaians on the rergister [that will be] the true reflection. Because there [are] presidents who have come and gone and I believe Limann's legacy will continue to live on and Limann's name will never die. The people of Sissala know what Limann did for them."

manue Kwame Amoh|tv3netwo