Dominic Ayine, former Attorney General and Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga East has dismissed Ken Kuranchie’s petition challenging former President John Dramani Mahama’s right to run in the 2024 elections.
“He has planted confusion in his own mind and the Supreme Court jurisdiction is not needed in this one,” Mr Ayine told Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Citi FM.
He also questioned Mr Kuranchie, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Searchlight newspaper, on the constitutional clause governing the eligibility of anyone seeking to serve as president.
“I have read through the writ and to be honest with you, aside from the fact that it is poorly drafted, it is a non-issue because if you read the language of the constitution, it is very clear that a person is entitled to two terms when elected president of the republic, and now he is saying that the fact that the constitution says that you cannot go more than two terms, then it means that the person who has done one term cannot be re-elected into office again.
“If the makers of the Constitution had wanted to limit such persons from seeking re-election, then they would have said that a person is entitled to not more than two consecutive terms so basically what the plaintiff is seeking to do is to invite the Supreme Court to read the word consecutive into the language of the constitution and I think it is not something the Supreme Court will be very willing to do even though I cannot say with exactitude.”
Mr Kuranchie filed the petition in the Supreme Court on June 12th, contesting the former president’s right to run in the 2024 presidential election.
Mr Kuranchie seeks a declaration that, based on a true and proper interpretation of Article 66 (1) of the 1992 Constitution, the length of a presidential term is four years.
He is also requesting a determination that, according to a true and proper reading of Articles 66 11) and (2) of the 1992 Constitution, a person seeking a second presidential term must be the current president.
A statement that, according to a true and correct interpretation of Article 62 of the 1992 Constitution, a former President of Ghana is unable to run for President of Ghana.
