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Acting Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie Outlines Plans to Expedite Election Petitions During Vetting
Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie appeared before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday to be vetted for the position of Chief Justice, offering a detailed account of his judicial philosophy and plans for streamlining Ghana’s election petition process.
In a comprehensive address, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie emphasized the importance of timely adjudication of election disputes, drawing on past presidential election petitions to illustrate the need for efficiency. He recounted lessons from the 1999 and 2020 election petitions, noting that procedural delays can create uncertainty for elected leaders and the nation.
“We concluded that a presidential election petition should ideally be completed before the seventh of January, the inauguration day,” Justice Baffoe-Bonnie explained. He proposed scheduling elections in early November to provide a 57-day window, allowing petitions to be filed, served, and adjudicated within the 42-day timeline established under CI 99.
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Highlighting modern tools for judicial efficiency, the Acting Chief Justice suggested leveraging electronic filing, email, and mobile communication to reduce delays traditionally associated with personal service of court documents. “Processes that once took a week can now be served electronically within three days,” he said, stressing that this approach would ensure timely resolution of disputes.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie also addressed the operational readiness of the courts during holiday periods, proposing that registries remain open in December to allow petitions to proceed without interruption. “By managing processes efficiently, we can guarantee that a duly elected president assumes office on inauguration day without prolonged legal uncertainty,” he noted.
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