Agnes Ansah
Accra, April 6, GNA – The Election Management Committee (EMC) of the Judiciary says judges ought to sit daily in adjudicating parliamentary election petition for speedy trials.
The Committee said the proposal when adopted, would help to speed up the trial processes and reduce election-related tension in the country.
The proposal was made at a stakeholder engagement in Accra.
Justice Paul Baffoe Bonney, Justice of the Supreme Court and Chairman of the EMC, presented the proposal on behalf of the Committee.
The agenda for the engagement organised by the National Peace Council, was on “Building Consensus of Parliamentary Elections Petition Adjudication”.
The purpose was to examine how parliamentary election petitions that inundate the courts after general election can be adjudicated expeditiously to enable Members of Parliament (MPs) discharge their duties after they have been sworn in.
Justice Baffoe Bonney noted that one of the factors that delayed the speedy adjudication of election petitions was the time allotted for the trials.
He said the practice of judges sitting on cases on daily basis was not novel, saying it was a practice that formed part of the work of judges as well as the administrative duties of the Chief Justice.
Justice Baffoe Bonney said a Chief Justice could direct a judge or court to sit on important cases on daily basis in order to speed up the process.
“..It is a normal thing for Chief Justice to issue practice directions. The Chief Justice has the power to issue instructions that registries should be opened throughout the period….The idea of doing cases from day to day is something that is done.
“But Ghanaians have become so politicised that any statement that anybody makes creates doubts,” he said.
The engagement was attended by representatives of political parties, Civil Society Organisations, officers of the Electoral Commission and some legal practitioners.
GNA