Elections News in Review: Tuesday, 8th November, 2016

Introduction

As part of its quest to promote issue-based campaigns for peaceful elections in the 2016 elections in Ghana, Penplusbytes issues daily news reviews based on monitoring of newspapers and other media sources in Ghana. The monitoring of fifteen (15) newspapers on 8^th November 2016 by Penplusbytes revealed a huge focus of the media on the Supreme Court ruling on 7^th November, 2016 and the press conference by the biggest Opposition Party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Lifeline for disqualified aspirants as the Supreme Court Orders EC to extend nomination period.

Most of the newspapers predictably focused on the Supreme Court order to the EC to extend the nomination period for the 12 candidates disqualified earlier for various offences by the EC. Majority of these media sources either saw the Supreme Court verdict as a victory for democracy, cooling of election tempers, breaking the stalemate, a humiliation for the EC or a victory for the Progress People’s Party (PPP). They further directed attention to whether the affected candidates would be able to meet the deadline by close of business today, 8^th November, 2016 in order to take advantage of this window of opportunity, a sentiment also expressed by the lead lawyer for the PPP, Mr Ayikoi Otoo.

Provide us with final register- NPP demands of EC

The perceived unfairness of the EC by the NPP which came up in a press conference on 7^th November 2016, also received some level attention, particularly from the pro-NPP media sources. Most of the media houses reechoed the position expressed by the NPP at a press conference on 7^th November that points to a grand scheme by the EC not to provide a level playing field for the December 7 general elections. The party alleged lack of fairness in the electoral process ahead of this year’s elections because, as it alleged, voters’ registers for 31 out of the 275 constituencies given to the NPP are corrupted and cannot be opened. The party is therefore raising a red flag and alleging a deliberate act of discrimination by the EC in this instance.