Chief Justice Anin Yeboah has said the Supreme Court cannot prevent a party from filing a process.
His comment comes after Lead Counsel for the petitioner in the ongoing presidential election petition hearing, Tsatsu Tsikata, served notice to re-open his case to enable him subpoena the Electoral Commission (EC) Chair, Mrs Jean Mensa.
The seven-member Supreme Court panel hearing the 2020 Election Petition has ruled that Mrs Mensa cannot be compelled to mount the witness box against her own decision not to do so.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Mr Tsikata, in response, argued that the EC boss in particular, must be compelled by the court to mount the witness box for cross-examination.
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Mr Tsikata told the court on Thursday, February 11 that: “We are applying to reopen our case and on that basis we are issuing a subpoena addressed to the Chairperson of the EC of Ghana.”
But Chief Yeboah, responding to the lead Counsel for the petitioner, said: “We cannot prevent a party from filing processes. When a process is filed, the court will come and hear it, whether it is review, whether it is an application to re-open the case or whatever, we will come and hear it.
“But these are the directions. By the ruling just read, the respective cases of the first and second respondents are closed,” he said.
The apex court has subsequently ordered the respondents to file their addresses for the closure of their case by February 17.
Hearing has also been adjourned to February 18, 2021.
