The flagbearer of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Bernard Mornah, has expressed deep disappointment following the High Court’s decision to dismiss his lawsuit against the Electoral Commission’s (EC) disqualification of his presidential bid for the 2024 elections.
In an interview on Monday, October 21, Mornah denounced the ruling, calling it a symptom of the “appalling decay” within Ghana’s judiciary system.
Mornah criticised the court’s dismissal of his case, stating that it reflects a decline in judicial standards.
He expressed concern over the judiciary’s role in upholding fairness, arguing that the decision was unjust and emblematic of a larger issue within the judicial process. Mornah’s sentiments suggest a loss of faith in the integrity of the courts.
The PNC leader was one of 11 presidential aspirants disqualified by the EC due to errors and omissions in their nomination forms, a decision he has strongly contested.
He believes the EC’s decision was overly harsh and lacked the fairness required in such a critical process. Mornah contends that his disqualification was not justified and that the courts should have taken a more balanced view of the situation.
He further criticised the EC, stating that the commission, which disqualified him for supposed errors, should not be the one to judge others on accuracy, as it also falls short of the same meticulousness it expects from candidates.
Mr Mornah argued that the EC’s own operations lack the precision it demands from presidential aspirants.
In light of the court’s ruling, Mr Mornah remains resolute in his belief that the disqualification process was flawed and that the judiciary’s inability to rectify this reflects a deeper issue within Ghana’s democratic institutions.
“I was shocked at the level of decay that is gripping the judiciary and if we will be able to practice democracy because what the judge tried to do is appalling and I feel that we are a long way from democracy and close to anarchy.”
“The EC does not come closer to being meticulous when it comes to errors. I pointed out to errors that the EC made on the presidential and parliamentary forms and its mistakes are tolerated and mine are not and I don’t understand that.”
“The EC told me that I had incomplete particulars on my nomination form, which were worked on and later the EC came and said they detected several errors and omissions and so today if the court is talking about several errors, how can that be several errors and omissions?,” Mr Mornah asked.
