Asamoah Boateng gives evidence on election petition

The petitioner challenging the 2012 parliamentary election results in the Mfanstiman West Constituency told a Cape Coast High Court hearing the case that some presiding officers did not sign the declaration forms and some of the figures did not tally with those in words.

Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, who was the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate in the constituency, in the last polls, was led in evidence by Mr. Egbert Faibille.

Mr Boateng told the court presided over by Mr. Justice James Benuyenah Benson that declaration sheets of 12 polling stations did not bear the signatures of the presiding officers.

He filed the petition against Mr Aquainas Tawiah-Quansah, Member of Parliament for the Constituency, over alleged malpractices, non-signing of pink sheets and other related matters.

Mr Asamoah-Boateng told the Court that apart from the omission of names of some presiding officers and their signatures, some entries of dates and time on the pink sheets were not recorded.

Mr. Asamoah-Boateng cited a station called CPB near Number One Asafo Post, that bore the presiding officer’s name as Christilove Quansah, but there was no signature, date and time, on the pink sheet.

Mr Asamoah-Boateng said, whereas Mr Tawiah-Quansah, the first respondent in the petition, was credited with 390 votes, he the petitioner, obtained 152 out of the 535 total valid votes cast.

He told the Court that Nsanfokuma Methodist Primary School Polling Station did not have any presiding officer, neither was there a signature, date and time on the pink sheet, adding that Mr.Tawiah-Quansah, was credited with 232 votes, whilst the 187 votes he obtained increased by a vote to read as 188 on the face of the sheet.

Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said the Anomabo Polling Station whose Code Number was B040701, did not bear the name of any presiding officer, neither was there a signature, date and time, adding that while Mr Tawiah-Quansah obtained 239 votes, he had 124 votes to his credit.

The petitioner said at the Anomabo One Catholic Primary School Polling Station, the pink sheet bore the name of Mr Daniel Evans as its presiding officer, and did not have a signature, time and date of entry, Mr Tawiah-Quansah had 348 votes to his credit while he obtained 323 votes.

Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said that, at the Anomabo Catholic ‘Two’ Primary School where there was no presiding officer at post, with no signature, date and time, the first respondent had 368 while he the petitioner obtained 337 votes in his name.

The petitioner named Mankessim Anglican JHS, Edumadzi M/A JHS, Mankessim One and Two M/A JHS, Eduadze M/A Primary and Anomabo Post Office as other polling stations where alleged election malpractices were recorded.

The case has been adjourned to Thursday, July 18.