ARCHER CJ.
I have had the opportunity of reading the reasons embodied in the opinion of my brother Francois and I agree with the reasons. However, by way of emphasis I wish to add a few words.
First, I wish to stress that although the plaintiff relied on article 55 of the constitution, I do not think that that article has any relevance to the action. One has to read the whole of article 55 to appreciate its import. That article deals with the organisation of political parties, the right to vote, and the responsibility of the State and the state media to provide opportunities to all political parties to present their programmes. Article 55(11) reads:
“The State shall provide fair opportunity to all political parties to present their programmes to the public by ensuring equal access to the state-owned media.”
Article 55(12) reads:
“All Presidential candidates shall be given the same amount of time and space on the state-owned media to present their programmes to the people.”
In article 55(11…