General News of Wednesday, 19 December 2012

Source: radioxyzonline.com

Live telecast of NPP court case is dangerous for Judges – Apaak

The Forum for Governance and Justice has cautioned against a live telecast of the impending Court case against the Electoral Commission (EC) by the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) over disputed election results.

The forum says granting such a request will expose the Judges that will sit on the case to danger since they can be vilified by parties that are unhappy with their rulings.

The Danquah Institute believes a live broadcast of proceedings in Court on what it says will be a high profile case will bring transparency into the process.

But the Convener of the Forum for Governance and Justice, Dr. Clement Apaak in an interview with XYZ News, said the move could be counterproductive for Ghana.

“I think that it is not right and fair, it is the NPP vrs the EC and that must not command the state to spend resources to telecast that issue live.

“We must also worry gravely about the security implications, as we have seen so far, people who feel aggrieved have acted in ways that have jeopardized the lives of others.

“We have seen demonstrations and even some of them have led to lawless behaviors including assault on Journalists and other citizens…so can you imagine the security risk that the Justices in the Supreme Court and others who are going to play important roles in the proceedings are going to be exposed to if this is telecast live” Mr. Apaak said.