Disputed parliamentary seats: NDC objects to NPP application, court to rule on 1 January

Following a Friday, 27 December 2024 directive by a five-member Supreme Court panel presided over by Justice Gabriel Pwamang for an application for Mandamus instituted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) seeking an order to compel the Electoral Commission (EC) to collate and declare parliamentary results in some specific constituencies to be re-adjudicated by the High Court, the Court sat today, Tuesday, 31 December 2024 to hear the case.

At the court’s sitting before Justice Forson Baah Agyapong, lawyers for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, raised a preliminary legal objection challenging the High Court’s jurisdiction to hear the application for Mandamus.

Essentially, the NDC argued that the application is an election petition disguised as a Mandamus application and lawyers for the NPP candidates and the Electoral Commission urged the court to dismiss the objection as there has been no collation and declaration and gazette notification, which are condition precedents for the filing of an election petition under PNDCL 284, which the NDC based their objection on.

The NDC is therefore prayed Justice Forson Baah Agyapong’s court to dismiss the madamus application; whilst lawyers for the NPP, led by Gary Nimako Marfo and the EC led by Justin Amenuvor, prayed the court to dismiss the NDCs preliminary legal objection for the substantive madamus application to be heard and determined.

The court after hearing the parties adjourned sitting to New Year’s Day, Wednesday, 1 January 2025, to deliver a ruling on the preliminary legal objection.

Background

Six NPP PCs filed an application for judicial review in the nature of a Mandamus in which they sought an order of the High Court to compel the Electoral Commission (EC) to collate and declare the parliamentary election results in the constituencies where they contested without further delay.

The NPP parliamentary candidate filed the application through their lawyer, Gary Nimako Marfo, in separate applications. They are Charles Forson, parliamentary candidate for Tema Central, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Patrick Yaw Boamah, Okaikwei Central, Martin Kweku Adjei-Mensah Korsah, Techiman South, Nana Akua Owusu Afriye, Ablekuma North and Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh, Ahafo Ano North.

The six parliamentary candidates essentially sought two orders from the general jurisdiction High Court. First was “an order of mandamus directed at the Electoral Commission (EC) (Respondent) compelling it to collate and declare the results and winners of all the Parliamentary elections held in their constituencies on 7 December 2024 through the Returning Officers as required by law.”

Secondly, they asked the court for “an order directed at the Inspector General of Police to provide adequate and armed security presence to the Electoral Commission (Respondent) at the designated collation centre to enable it to perform its constitutional and statutory duty of conducting and supervising public elections.”

Essentially, the six parliamentary candidates contend that “in accordance with the EC’s constitutional mandate, parliamentary elections were conducted on December 7, 2024, in the 276 constituencies across the nation, including their constituencies.

“The polls were successfully conducted in all polling stations in their constituencies, and results were announced and declared in all the polling stations and forwarded to the Returning Officer. In accordance with the law, the collation of election results commenced on the evening of 7 December 2024 at the constituency collation centre.

“While collation was ongoing, some young men and thugs entered the collation center, engaging in various acts of violence and threats, which disrupted the collation process. The post-poll acts of violence by those young men and thugs in their constituencies, resulting in the disruption of the collation processes, became a matter of public concern in the country.

“The collation was suspended and rescheduled due to the chaotic environment at the collation centers. The candidates were invited to Respondent’s Regional Collation Centre on Monday, 9th December 2024, to enable the collation process to proceed, but this could not be done.

“The EC later informed the candidates to report at the Police Training School, Tesano, in Accra, to continue collating the results, but the Respondent later informed me that the collation could not continue anymore.

“On 16 December 2024, the candidates indicated that they were compelled in the circumstances to write to the EC to demand the collation and declaration of the results and winner of their respective parliamentary elections within the next 24 hours.

“Even though the demand letter was served on the EC on the same 16 December 2024 at about 10:00 am and acknowledged receipt of same, the EC has failed or refused to collate and declare the results and winner of the parliamentary elections in their constituencies.

“The applicants contend that, to date, the EC has failed to continue collating the results and declaring the winner of the parliamentary elections as required and prescribed by law.”

Reporting by Wilberforce Asare in Accra

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