TOPIC: EC AND LEGAL ISSUES
MEDIA HOUSE: CLASS FM
DATE: 10-11-2016
Emefa: Thank you very much Rev. Dr. Opuni-Frimpong for your time. So does the sign of Dr. Hasan Ayariga pose any threat to us holding our election on December 7?
Rev. Dr. Opuni-Frimpong: Okay Good afternoon to you and your listeners and I want to use your platform to congratulate our Justices, the various political parties that went to court and the need to and for how we have allowed due process to course as part of our democratic electoral process. Having said that next issue is that but the current factor the legal prospects whowent to court or who are going to court how many times would have been grateful for our process but as to whether court appeal and all that will help us in our elections on December 7 is a challenge and that is why sometimes it is like of course the Chief Justice and the Judicial Service assures us that anything that can be found will be removed as fast as possible for us to have election on December 7 so we still have that assurance in a month. But we also are doing all our calculations and somebody must go to court today, tomorrow for the process to go on. At the moment, more suits have dominated public discourse. It could be the manifestoes, how to win and reduce at least rejected ballot papers. These are the issues but the more we hear court issues and appeals and all that it’s like now we are diverting our public attention and entering into court issues instead of issues that Ghanaians understand and allow them to influence their decisions as we vote on December 7 but of course the processes of going to court is still there but can we do it in such a way that our way forward will be sharper and that is our concern.
Emefa:So Hasan Ayariga for example he said that it looks like the Electoral Commission doesn’t want to hold the election on December 7. He made specific reference to the chairperson of the commission Mad. Charlotte Osei and he said that if that is what she wants that is exactly what he is going to do; is that something we should be worried about?
Rev. Dr. Opuni-Frimpong:So far they have done very well and so we must use due process. I think that we must also be mindful of our choice of words and all that because the recent examples we have witnessed should suggest to us that even one person can decide to throw a political party or an individual away. Now the sources have proved to all of us that justice will be addressed and whoever will call our honourable Justices they are ready to give justice and fairness and all that so whoever must go to court must go but we should not be some kind of verbal attack and all that. Of course we will plead with the EC and if that is the impression people are getting and to reposition the EC in such a way that this issue will trend and the EC at the end of the day must be fair. We must also have in mind that they have to be ahead of us and so with consensus building and other procedures can be used but whoever wants to go to court must go but we must do all these devoid of verbal attack and such things because you can’t do due process and abuse the law.
Emefa:Thank you very much Rev. Dr. Opuni-Frimpong; he is the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana.
Rev. Dr. Opuni-Frimpong: Thank you.