Instrument No. 92 of 2006 did not have a provision specifying the
time and place where the statutory declaration of assets and
liabilities
for
presidential candidates were to
be
inspected.
Conversely, regulation 20 of the repealed Electoral (General)
Regulations Statutory Instrument No. 92 of 2006 provided for
inspection of nomination papers for candidates in the constituency,
by registered voters, at a reasonable time at the office of the
returning officer. This repealed regulation 20 read as follows:
20. After a returning officer for a constituency has given notice, under
regulation 19, and before the day appointed for the taking of the poll in
the constituency, any person registered in such a constituency may, at
any reasonable time, inspect, at the office of the returning officer, any of
rhe nomination papers of the candidates in that constituency.
[57] Following the 2016 constitutional amendments, Article 52 (3)
provides as follows:
The information contained in a nomination paper and affidavit shall be
puohsncd by the Electoral Commission, as prescribed.
[58] It is clear that Article 52 (3) provides that nomination papers
and the affidavits for all candidates at presidential, parliamentary
and local government levels must be published, as prescribed. The
use of the word 'publish' connotes public access to the nomination
paper and the affidavit. Black's Law Dictionary Revised 4th Edition
defines the word publish as:
“to make public; to circulate; to make known to people
genera!;...making known something to the public for a purpose"
[59] Public
access
to
such
information
is
therefore
in
still
constitutionally recognised. Article 52 (3) of the Constitution
mandates the lbl Respondent to publish the information, as
J24
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents