PNC lacked diligence in completing nomination forms

Justice Richard Appietu has ruled that the People’s National Convention (PNC) was not meticulous in filling out its nomination forms, dismissing Bernard Mornah’s application to overturn the Electoral Commission’s decision to disqualify him from the presidential race.

Mornah claimed that the commission violated his rights to natural justice by not providing him with an opportunity to correct alleged errors that led to his disqualification. He stated that on September 13, the commission notified him of discrepancies in his forms and requested corrections.

However, when Mornah resubmitted the forms, the commission disqualified him, citing several unresolved errors. He contended that the disqualification letter, unlike the September 13 notification, did not specify the errors or provide him with a chance to address them.

Mornah argued that the commission’s actions infringed upon his political rights and right to be heard, also alleging a breach of administrative justice.

In response, the Electoral Commission asserted that Mornah had failed to fully correct the identified errors, stating that some were of a criminal nature. They highlighted issues such as the absence of a signature for one John Arthur and the use of the same signature for four different endorsers as grounds for disqualification.

The commission refuted Mornah’s claims, maintaining that their actions did not violate any constitutional provisions.

In his ruling, Justice Appietu concluded that Mornah’s right to be heard was not breached. He noted that evidence presented in court indicated that Mornah was informed of the errors on September 13, 2024, and asked to correct them.

While the disqualification letter did not specify the exact errors, the judge found that they were related to those previously mentioned.

Justice Appietu stated that Mornah waived his right to a second hearing by failing to address the errors. He compared this to a scenario in which an individual is informed of a hearing date but chooses not to attend, effectively forfeiting their right to be heard.

The judge further emphasized that both the PNC and Mornah should have exercised greater diligence in completing the forms.

He pointed out that given the PNC’s long history in the electoral process since 1992, they should have been more careful to avoid such mistakes.

Based on the Electoral Commission’s assertion that Mornah’s form contained four similar signatures for four different individuals, raising suspicions of fraud, Justice Appietu denied the request for judicial review, invoking the legal maxim that “he who comes to equity must come with clean hands.”