The High Court in Accra is expected to deliver its ruling on four applications seeking to compel the Electoral Commission to collate and declare results in four Constituencies today, Saturday January 4, 2025..
This was after the parties have made their respective submissions before the Court presided over by Justice Forson Baah Agyepong.
Four Parliamentary Candidates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) – Nana Akua Afriyie (Ablekuma North), Patrick Yaw Boamah (Okaikwei Central), Charles Forson (Tema Central) and Adjei Mensah Korsah )Techiman South£, are in court with their respective applications for Mandamus.
Per their applications, they are urging the High Court in Accra to issue an order compelling the Electoral Commission to collate and declare results of those four constituencies.
The applications named the EC as the Respondent.
Ebi Bright, (Tema Central), Awurabena Aubynn (Ablekuma North), Baba Sadiq, (Okaikwei North) and Christopher Beyere (Techiman South) are the interested parties (NDC Parliamentary Candidates).
Their counterparts from the NDC have opposed to the request and urged the Court to dismissed same raising issues of jurisdiction since in their view, declarations have been made and their candidates have been declared winners.
Appropriate orders
The Electoral Commission through its lawyers has urged the High Court in Accra to make appropriate orders that will enable the Commission to complete the collation process in the various collation centers.
While advancing arguments for the grant of an application for Mandamus in respect of Tema Central Constituency, lawyers of the EC led by Justin Amenuvor said, the orders must curtail dangerous precedent.
“If this court does not make the appropriate orders for the EC to go and finish its work in the presence of the very limited number of persons outlined in the Constitutional Instrument (C.I 127) a dangerous precedent for our democracy will be set whereby all manner of thugs, hoodlums, will evade constituency collation centres and even without the appropriate forms prescribed in the C.I. for the election raise the hand of somebody holding an A4 sheet and saying that it is done,” Lawyer Justin Amenuvor said.
Compel EC to complete work
Before his submissions, lawyers for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by Gary Nimako has made a similar submission while moving the application for mandamus to compel the EC to collate and declare the results in the Tema Central Constituency.
Counsel has argued that, the processes could not be completed due alleged intimidation which led to improper declaration of the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Ebi Bright as the winner.
He alleged that, the person who performed that improper declaration was not the returning officer of the EC.
Gary Nimako Marfo pointed out to the High Court presided over by Justice Forson Baah Agyepong to a video which was played in open court.
It was his submission that, the person seen holding an A4 sheet in the video on the day of the said purported declaration was one Mr John Nunoo and not the EC’s returning officer, Mr Kwesi Brobbey.
To this point, he said their application is only asking the court to compel the EC to complete the collation process and declare the winner of the election for that constituency.
Dismiss mandamus application
Counsel for the Interested Parties, Godwin Edudzi Tameklo while opposing to the request, said the remedy lies in an election petition and not Mandamus.
“We submit that a declaration has been made and a winner declared” in the person of Ebi Bright, in Tema Central for example and Ablekuma North, Okaikwei Central and Techiman South.
Mr Tameklo argued that, per the applicants own showings, declaration have been made but said they were done in breaches of regulations 43, there its a matter for a different forum and different procedures and not by Mandamus.
“The conditions for the grant of Mandamus have not been met,” Counsel argued adding that, “There was no demand and a recusal and therefore the application is premature, incompetent and no cause of action has arisen to warrant this application.”
“It is our prayer that this application for Mandamus be dismissed because it failed to meet the conditions precedent for your jurisdiction to be invoked,” counsel urged the Court.
