Legal activist and Law Student at the University of Ghana, has criticized the recent disqualification of non-resident aspirants in the UGSRC elections.
He clarified that Article 30 of the UGSRC Constitution, which was recently expunged, never explicitly banned non-resident students from contesting for executive positions.
The legal expert adds that the Vetting Committee’s decision to disqualify aspirants on an expunged article is a bizarre and pervasive
“Chapter 6 of the UGSRC Constitution has expunged Article 30…It’s very clear that the qualifications in Article 30 no longer stand. Applying a provision that has been removed is as bizarre and pervasive as it gets. The article was expunged because it was no longer in line with current times.”
He further stated that the original intent behind Article 30 was to ensure good standing as a student.
“The purpose of Article 30 was to ensure that candidates were students in good standing. Back when it was drafted, being a member of a hall was considered a sign of this. That’s why additional qualifications were included to ensure that only those in good standing within their halls could run in elections.”
However, he stressed that even without Article 30, other related provisions in the constitution still maintain the same intent. Therefore, it is invalidated to depend on a specific provision to disqualify an aspirant.
“The other provisions that follow from Article 30 reinforce the same objectives. So, there’s no reason why this specific provision should be so material as to invalidate the rest, assuming the candidates meet those criteria,” the activist concluded.
