NDC accuses High Court judge of bias in election re-collation ruling

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused a High Court judge of bias and procedural errors in a controversial ruling that directed the Electoral Commission (EC) to re-collate election results in nine disputed constituencies.

The ruling ordered the EC to verify results in constituencies where discrepancies were alleged, with the NPP arguing that the re-collation was necessary to ensure transparency and accuracy.

While the decision has been praised by some as reinforcing the EC’s constitutional mandate to guarantee credible elections, the NDC has described it as legally flawed.

The EC has so far complied with the court’s directive in seven of the constituencies, but the re-collation processes for Ablekuma North and Dome-Kwabenya remain incomplete.

During Supreme Court proceedings on December 27, 2024, Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, the NDC’s Director of Legal Affairs, accused the trial judge of violating principles of natural justice.

According to Tamakloe, the NDC was denied the opportunity to present its case, which significantly influenced the outcome of the decision.

“Our ground for this application is that the orders made by the High Court were in breach of the applicant’s rights to be heard,” citinewsroom.com quoted him to have said.

“The trial judge demonstrated apparent bias and partiality. There was a non-jurisdictional error of law by failing to exercise the court’s powers under Order 55 Rule 5 (2) of CI 47 to direct the second to sixth interested parties to serve the mandamus application on the applicant, who had an interest in the dispute.”

The NDC further alleged that the trial judge failed to address critical procedural requirements, including ensuring that all interested parties were notified and given the opportunity to respond to the mandamus application.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Ghana has quashed the ruling of the High Court which ordered the Electoral Commission of Ghana to re-collate and re-declare four parliamentary seats initially declared in favour of the NDC.

This is after the Supreme Court of Ghana heard an application by the NDC challenging the recent declaration and re-declaration of the parliamentary election results of nine constituencies that were in dispute.

The NDC wanted the court to quash a ruling of a High Court which ordered the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) to re-collate and re-declare the results of five constituencies, namely Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, Techiman South, and Obuasi East.

The NDC also wanted the order of the court for the EC to continue the collation of the parliamentary election results for the Nsawam-Adoagyiri and Ahafo Ano North constituencies nullified.

They argued that the High Court judge who sat on the case refused to listen to their parliamentary candidates whom the ruling affected, which, according to them, violates the fundamental rule of law that a court cannot make a final decision which will adversely affect a person who the court did not allow to present his or her side of the story.

The five-member Supreme Court panel, chaired by Justice Gabriel Pwamang, overruled the order for the re-collation of the constituencies that were ruled in favour of the NDC: Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, and Techiman South.

The court also ordered that the High Court, presided by a different judge, should hear the matter again and allow the affected MP-elects to defend themselves on Tuesday, January 31, 2024.

The court, however, ruled that the order of the High Court for the continued collation of the results of the two constituencies - Nsawam Adoagyiri and Ahafo Ano North - remains valid.

The other judges who sat on the case were Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Justice Ernest Gaewu, Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, and Justice Adjei Frimpong.

Background:

The Electoral Commission, on Friday, December 20, 2024, went ahead with the recount and continued collation of the parliamentary election results of nine constituencies for the just-ended 2024 general election despite opposition by the NDC.

Before the re-collation and re-declaration exercise, the NDC claimed it had acquired a court order that barred the EC from going on with the declaration which had been properly served on the commission.

The party has held the position that the electoral laws of the country state that once election results are declared, the only way they can be challenged is in the courts.

After the exercises on Saturday, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidates in seven of the constituencies whose processes were completed by the EC were declared winners.

Four seats, which were initially declared for the NDC, namely Obuasi East, Okaikwei Central, Tema Central, and Techiman South, were re-declared in favour of the NPP.

The Obuasi East seat, which was initially declared for NDC’s Samuel Aboagye, was re-declared for NPP’s Patrick Boakye-Yiadom; the Tema Central seat, which was declared for NDC’s Ebi Bright, was re-declared for NPP’s Charles Forson.

Also, the Techiman South seat was re-declared for NPP’s Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah after it had been initially declared for Christopher Beyere Baasongti, and the Okaikwei Central seat was re-declared for NPP’s Dr. Patrick Boamah after it was initially declared for NDC’s Baba Sadiq.

The Nsawam Adoagyiri, Ahafo Ano North, and Ahafo Ano South West constituencies, which were initially incomplete, were also declared in favour of the NPP’s Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Eric Nana Agyeman-Prempeh, and Elvis Osei Mensah, respectively.

Two constituencies - Ablekuma North and Dome Kwabenya - are, however, yet to be determined.

For the Ablekuma North Constituency, NDC’s Ewurabena Aubynn was declared the winner of the constituency’s seat without the results of 62 polling stations.

The NPP’s candidate for the constituency is Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh, a former MP and the current Deputy Chief Executive of the Coastal Development Authority.

For Dome Kwabenya, NDC’s Elikplim Akurugu was declared the winner of the constituency’s seat, beating NPP’s Mike Oquaye Jnr.

AM/BB

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