Tribunal dismisses application for live broadcast

The Presidential Election Petition Court on Monday dismissed the application seeking to allow the day-to-day telecast of the ongoing election petitions proceedings.

The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani dismissed the request which was made by the aggrieved parties and candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party as lacking in merit and rejected it.

The court held that allowing cameras in the courtroom is a major judicial policy that must be supported by the law.

However, according to the ruling, no regulatory framework or policy direction permitted it to grant the application.

“The court can only be guided and act in accordance with the practice directions and procedures approved by the President of the Court of Appeal.

“We cannot permit a situation that may lead to dramatization of our proceedings,” Justice Tsammani said.

Furthermore, the court held that the request was not part of any relief sought by the petitioners and had no bearing on it.

It said that the request for a live broadcast would not add to the determination of the petitions adding that the petitioners failed to establish how the live broadcast of the proceedings would advance their case.

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