The Judicial Service, on the authority and
direction of the Hon. Lady Chief Justice, Mrs. Justice Georgina T. Wood, has
established two Public Complaints Secretariats in anticipation of post-2012
election petitions. They are the Chief Justice’s Secretariat and the Office of
the Chief Registrar-General.
The mandate of the two Secretariats will be to
receive and file complaints and queries from the public on pending election
petitions before the courts after the December 7 general elections and take the
necessary action on them.
The purpose of this arrangement is to ensure that
post-election petitions that are placed before the courts are determined in a
timely fashion. The two Secretariats can be reached by email on
elections@judicial.gov.gh and edisputes@judicial.gov.gh and by telephone on the
following hotlines: 0203356029 and 0203356030.
This initiative of the Hon. Lady Chief Justice is
part of a raft of measures that the Judicial Service has taken towards the
speedy disposal of election disputes. The Service in 2008 produced a Manual on
Election Adjudication in Ghana ahead of the general elections of that year to
serve as a useful guide for Judges in adjudicating electoral disputes.
A 2nd Edition, which is an improvement on the
maiden one, has been produced this year. It includes subject matters that were
not previously covered in the first edition in addition to a digest of some
previously decided cases and a list of statutes that are applicable to the
conduct of elections in Ghana.
Also, as was the case in 2008, Judges who will be
hearing election related disputes have received directives from the Chief
Justice to sit on non-working days, namely, weekends and public or statutory
holidays.
Signed
Justice Alex B. Poku-Acheampong
Judicial Secretary
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