Jean Mensa – Chairperson of EC
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has gone to court seeking to stop the Electoral Commission (EC) from re-collating and re-declaring the parliamentary results for Dome-Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, and Obuasi East constituencies.
This follows controversies surrounding results from these constituencies which have become a source of uncertainty and disturbances.
The NDC, in a law suit filed before a High Court in Accra, contends that the EC no longer has the power “to re-collate, re-count and re-declare the results of the already declared election results in the stated constituencies.”
Illegal Declarations
The Electoral Commission last Friday declared the parliamentary results for Dome-Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North and Tema Central constituencies illegal, stating that they cannot be upheld.
Deputy Chairperson of the EC in charge of Operations, Mr. Samuel Tettey, made this announcement last Friday at the Commission’s headquarters in Accra.
He explained that the results were deemed invalid due to interference by party supporters, who disrupted proceedings at collation centres and coerced EC staff into declaring results for their preferred candidates.
NDC Suit
But the NDC has filed a lawsuit seeking to prohibit the EC from undertaking any exercise of re-collating and declaring an eventual winner in these constituencies, arguing that it does not have the power to perform that assignment.
Other applicants aside the party are Faustina Elikplim Akurugu, Baba Sadiq, Ewurabena Aubynn, Ebi Bright, and Samuel Aboagye.
The applicants are seeking an “order prohibiting the respondent from re-collating, re-counting and re-declaring the already collated and declared parliamentary election results in the Dome-Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, and Tema Central constituencies.”
They want a declaration that by virtue of Article 99 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and Section 16 of PNDCL 284, it is the High Court of Ghana that has the exclusive original jurisdiction to invalidate the declaration of parliamentary election results and not the respondent.
The applicants are also seeking a declaration that the EC’s position that declaration of parliamentary results for Dome-Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North and Tema Central constituencies as illegal and invalid on grounds of purported threats by applicants’ supporters and failure by officers of the EC to follow legal procedures due to purported threats by NDC supports, violates Article 99 of the 1992 Constitution, Sections 16 and 20 of PNDCL 284, hence null, void and of no legal effect.
Again, the applicants want an order of certiorari quashing the decision of the EC purportedly nullifying the parliamentary election results in Dome-Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North and Tema Central during its press conference last Friday.
The NDC further wants an order directed at the EC to submit the names of Faustina Elikplim Akurugu, Baba Sadiq, Ewurabena Aubynn, Ebi Bright, and Samuel Aboagye for publication in the gazette.
The party also wants an order of perpetual injunction restraining the EC, its assigns, agents, privies, servants, employees, worksmen and any other person acting on its behalf without an order of a court with competent jurisdiction from re-collating and or re-counting and re-declaring the declared election results in the constituencies in contention.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak