Klottey fight: I'm not down yet – Zanetor

Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings has said a decision by the court on Monday February 22 to strike out an application she had filed to have a suit filed against her by incumbent MP Nii Armah Ashitey over her voter eligibility does not constitute a rout, yet.

"I think the case is ongoing, so, we are just waiting to see how it goes… the case isn't over yet, you can’t say it's a blow until it's over, we don't know that for sure do we?" she told journalists after Monday's hearing.

Dr Rawlings said she was confident of victory in the long run. "We just keep going…" she added.

Meanwhile Mr Ashitey has said he never lost the governing National Democratic Congress' parliamentary primary that elected Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings.

Mr Ashitey, who is challenging the voter eligibility of former President Jerry Rawlings' daughter, told journalists – after the hearing on Monday – that: "We are now moving to the next change with a motion of an injunction on the lady from doing any campaign, and then we are going to finally decide whether she really is a registered voter."

Asked by journalists if his suit was not borne out of soreness, after losing the race to Dr Rawlings in November last year, Mr Ashitey said: "I didn’t lose that election. The point is that the woman was not qualified to stand…"

According to him, the court order is "good for democracy, good for rule of law…what is left now is about determination of whether the lady is a registered voter…" Mr Ashitey emphasised.

Mr Ashitey's suit came days after Dr Rawlings' voter eligibility was affirmed by an Accra High Court on Friday January 15.

Three plaintiffs: Joseph Narku Botchway, Jacob Amin, and Reverend Michael Kwabena Nii Adjei Sowah, who are all from the constituency, had filed a suit and prayed the court to declare Dr Rawlings' election as parliamentary candidate null and void on grounds that she was not an eligible voter.

But the court said the plaintiffs did not demonstrate, with their arguments, how Dr Rawlings' election violated their rights.

The three, in their suit, prayed the court for answers to the following:

1. Whether or not Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings is a registered voter.

2. If so, when was the name entered on the National Biometric Voters’ Register.

3. The name of the Registration Officer.

4. The date of registration.

5. The time on which the name was entered on the roll as shown on the print out.

6. The registration centre name.

7. The registration code.

8. The constituency within which the registration took place.

9. The Voter's Identify Card number of Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings.

10. Biometric finger print.

11. The type of identification document used in the registration process.

12. Copies of Form 1C that captured the data.

13. Copies of Voter Register Form 1A

14. Whether Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings’ name has been publicly exhibited on any provisional Voters’ Register.

15. If so when?

16. Please furnish the Court with the said Voters’ Register.

17. If the registration was during the limited registration period in 2014, a copy of the voter registration identification guarantee form.

18. Copies of the registration team details Form 2A.

19. Please furnish the Court with the final Biometric Voters’ Register showing Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings’ name.

Similar concerns about Dr Rawlings’ eligibility had been expressed in the past by law firm Safo & Marfo @ Law, who wrote to the Electoral Commission seeking to ascertain whether Dr Rawlings was a registered eligible voter in Ghana.

Despite winning the primary, Dr Rawlings was unable to vote in last year’s polls because her name could not be traced on the register of voters.

That development raised issues about her eligibility as a voter, since the party’s Greater Accra regional chairman, Ade Coker, said the non-existence of one’s name on the register meant that person was not a registered voter since, according to him, the source of the NDC’s register of voters was the national register of the Electoral Commission.

Safo & Marfo @ Law, therefore, wanted the EC to ascertain her electoral eligibility. The private law firm made the following demands:

"1. Whether or not Dr. Zanetor (Zanetor) Rawlings is a registered voter within the meaning of Article 94 (1)(a) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana."

"2. If so when was her name entered into the electoral register?"

The law firm also wanted a certified true copy of the voter's register.

The search process initiated by Safo & Marfo came barely 24 hours after news broke of a suit against Dr Rawlings by ex-partner Herbert Mensah for custody.