The Koforidua High Court has dismissed in its entirety a parliamentary election petition filed by former Member of Parliament for Suhum, Oboafo Kwadwo Asante, and awarded costs of GH¢200,000 against him.
The case was presided over by the Supervising Judge, His Lordship Justice George Krofa-Addae, who ruled that the petitioner failed to adduce credible and competent evidence to substantiate his claims of irregularities and electoral malpractice during the 2024 parliamentary elections.
In his judgment, the court held that the allegations raised by Mr. Asante did not meet the required legal threshold to overturn the election results. Consequently, the court awarded costs of GH¢200,000 in favour of the respondent, Frank Asiedu Bekoe, popularly known as Protozoa.
The Suhum parliamentary election was among the most contentious in the 2024 polls, with results declared several days after voting ended. The Electoral Commission eventually announced the outcome at the Police Training School in Tesano, Accra.
According to the official results, Frank Asiedu Bekoe secured 16,855 votes, defeating the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Prince Kwadwo Addo Tabiri, who garnered 15,259 votes.
Oboafo Kwadwo Asante, who contested as an independent candidate after breaking away from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), placed third with 14,860 votes, while another independent candidate, Emmanuel Dede Wiafe, polled 159 votes.
Following the declaration, Mr. Asante filed a petition at the Koforidua High Court challenging the outcome and the declaration of Mr. Asiedu Bekoe as winner.
In his affidavit, the petitioner alleged that the election was fraught with irregularities that significantly affected the outcome. He claimed that 37 pink sheets contained multiple biometric verification device (BVD) numbers, five pink sheets had no BVD numbers, three lacked presiding officers’ signatures, and 14 pink sheets showed conflicting voter figures.
He further argued that results from six polling stations, with a total voter population of 3,381, were excluded from the final declaration.
“That the voter population of the six (6) polling stations chronicled supra cumulates to a total voter population of Three Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighty One (3,381). That if we are to apply the national voter average turnout of sixty percent (60%) for the said election on the voter population of 3,381, the outcome will bring the total vote cast to 2,029,” the petitioner stated.
He added that “the figure 2,029 is highly significant to impact the direction of the polls in one way or the other, particularly in favour of the Petitioner or that of the National Democratic Congress.”
Based on these claims, Mr. Asante sought several reliefs, including a declaration that the Suhum parliamentary results were void and an order for a re-run of the election in either the affected polling stations or the entire constituency.
However, in his response, the first respondent, Frank Asiedu Bekoe, dismissed the allegations as baseless and inconsistent. He maintained that the elections were “regular and lawful” and that he was duly elected by the people of Suhum.
He questioned the credibility of the petition, stating: “It is strange that after objecting to results from six polling stations in which I had the majority of votes, the petitioner is now asking the court to include those same results. This inconsistency undermines his entire case.”
He further told the court: “My Lord, from the results declared, even when the Petitioner through his agent objected to the inclusion of six (6) polling stations in which I won the majority of the total valid votes cast, the Petitioner lost the Suhum Constituency Parliamentary Elections to me by 1,995 votes.”
According to the respondent, the petitioner’s own objection to the inclusion of results from the six polling stations contradicted his later claim that those same results should be considered.
“It is strange that after objecting to the inclusion of results from six (6) polling stations in which I won the total votes, the same person would come to court to challenge his own objection,” he added.
After considering the evidence and arguments from both sides, the court dismissed the petition and upheld the declaration of Frank Asiedu Bekoe as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Suhum.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
