The Tamale High Court will today January 20, 2023 determine the validity of the election of Abdulai Jacob Iddrisu of the National Democratic Congress(NDC) for Savulugu Constituency of the Northern Region as Member of Parliament (MP).
This follow a petition filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate of Savelugu for the 2020 election, Muhamed Abdul-Samed Gunu at the Tamale High Court challenging the validity of the election of Abdulai Jacob Iddrisu as MP pursuant to the parliamentary elections held on the December 7, 2020.
The High Court presided by Justice Daniel Obeng will determine as to whether the election was valid or should be declared null and void.
Respondents in the petition are the Electoral Commission (1st Respondent) and Abdulai Jacob Iddrisu (2nd Respondent).
Per the results declared by the EC in the parliamentary elections held on December 7, 2020, Mr. Gunu polled 19,478 votes while Alhaji Abdulai Jacob Iddris , the NDC candidate secured 19,577 votes.
The petitioner Muhamed Abdul-Samed Gunu is claiming that the purported election of the NDC candidate as Member of Parliament for the Savelugu constituency is invalid, owing to widespread malpractices and irregularities which affected the outcome of the impugned election.
The NPP Savelugu parliamentary candidate said his overarching of aspiration is for the EC to conduct elections that are free, fair and transparent in order to reflect the will of the people, protect the rights of candidates and inspire confidence in the democratic experiment that the republic has conducted under the fourth Republican Constitution since 1992.
He however, said the elections were vitiated by gross and widespread electoral malpractices that substantially and materially affected the results of the election as declared by 1st respondent in favour of 2nd respondent.
The petitioner said that there were manifested an egregious violation of neutrality, transparency, and fairness at the D/A primary polling station at Kadia, which substantially and materially affected the results of the election as declared by 1st respondent in favour of 2nd respondent when 1st respondent officer, a ballot box issuer surreptitiously inserted several already thump-printed ballot sheets, not the situated ballot boxes.
The petitioner says that when valid votes cast at polling stations, where voting was carried out in accordance with the law and in compliance with the regulations governing of the conduct of the 2020 parliamentary elections, are collated, petitioner herein is the lawful winner of the 2020 parliamentary election for the Savelugu constituency.
He added that in consequence of the above stated constitutional and statutory violation, infractions, irregularities and malpractices, 1st respondent declared results for the parliamentary elections far in excess of the actual votes validly cast, thereby subverting the sovereign will of the electorate contrary to the preamble and Articles1(1) and 42 of the constitution, 1992.
The NPP parliamentary candidate for the Savelugu, prays that the Tamale High Court declares that Abdulai Jacob Iddrisu, 2nd respondent herein and NDC parliamentary candidate on account of votes that ought to have been validly declared is not the validly elected MP for the Savelugu constituency.
The Tamale High Court hearing the Savelugu parliamentary election petition, granted an application for the inspection and copies of the collation form (Form C) for the December 7, 2020, parliamentary election results in the custody of the Electoral Commission.
The court also ordered the EC, which is the first respondent in the case, to produce the collation sheets (Form C) for inspection by both the petitioner and the second respondent in the case, Abdulai Jacob Iddris, NDC MP for Savelugu and also provide copies of same to them after the inspection.
After years of going through court proceedings, Justice Daniel Obeng, will hear and deliver his final judgment on the Savelugu parliamentary election petition case to determine the fate of the current MP for Savelugu.
By Vincent Kubi & Eric Kombat, Tamale