A Legal Practitioner, John Owusu Agyemang has said the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi has goofed in his interpretation of the constitution in his bid to block ex President John Mahama’s from contesting in the 2020 election.
Bernard Antwi Boasiako, has indicated his readiness to file a lawsuit challenging the eligibility of former President John Mahama in contesting the 2020 elections.
According to him, the 1992 constitution proscribes a person holding office as President of Ghana for more than two terms, and hence Mr Mahama’s bid for the Presidency in the upcoming elections is contestible by law.
His decision to prevent the former president from contesting is on the basis of article 66 of the 1992 constitution which states: (1) A person elected as President shall, subject to clause (3) of this article, hold office for a term of four years beginning from the date on which he is sworn in as President. (2) A person shall not be elected to hold office as President of Ghana for more than two terms.
Chairman Wontumi, is of the view the former president in serving the unexpired term of late President John Evans Atta-Mills in 2012 represented his first term and subsequently winning the 2012 elections became the second term prescribed by the constitution, therefore seeking for another term amounts to a breach of the constitution.
He wants the supreme court to declare John Mahama ineligible to contest the presidential seat in 2020.
But Lawyer John Owusu Agyeman in an interview with host Henry Lord on Ejura Sekyedumase based Naagyei 90.3 FM, stated that Chairman Wontumi would be engaging in an exercise in futility with his case eventually thrown out by the Supreme Court as he should have read Article 60 together with Article 66 for him to get a better appreciation of the issue.
“If he’d first read Article 60 he would have realized that there is no need for him to even think of going to the Supreme Court for interpretation because Article 60 (6) and (7) allows ex President John Mahama to contest for the Presidency twice. He only read Article 66 and rushed to come public, but he’s goofed big time. Next time he should seek legal education from the many experienced lawyers in Kumasi before he makes such arguments.”
Source: Naagyeifmonline.com