In a bid to clarify the misconceptions surrounding their court application, Gary Nimako Marfo, the Director of legal affairs for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and lawyer for the six parliamentary candidates (PCs), has explained that they never asked for a re-collation of votes.
Instead, they demanded that the Electoral Commission (EC) complete the collation process and declare the winners of the parliamentary elections in their respective constituencies.
According to Nimako Marfo, the six NPP PCs – Charles Forson (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) – filed an application for judicial review in the nature of a Mandamus.
This was after the EC failed to complete the collation process and declare the winners of the parliamentary elections in their constituencies.
The applicants contended that the EC’s failure to complete the collation process was a breach of its constitutional mandate.
They argued that 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.
However, the collation process was disrupted by thugs and young men from the NDC who entered the collation center, engaging in various acts of violence and threats.
Speaking on Asaase Radio, Nimako Marfo explained that the applicants sought two main orders from the High Court. Firstly, they asked for an order of mandamus directing the EC to collate and declare the results and winners of the parliamentary elections in their constituencies.
Secondly, they requested an order directing the Inspector General of Police to provide adequate and armed security presence to the EC at the designated collation centers to enable it to perform its constitutional and statutory duty of conducting and supervising public elections.
The High Court subsequently granted the applicants’ request, ordering the EC to complete the collation process and declare the winners of the parliamentary elections in the affected constituencies.
However, some media outlets and lawyers have misconstrued the court’s ruling, claiming that the applicants sought a re-collation of votes.
Lawyer Nimako Marfo has clarified that this is not the case, emphasizing that the applicants only demanded that the EC complete the collation process and declare the winners of the parliamentary elections in their constituencies.
BY Daniel Bampoe