Court dismisses NDC application to stop EC from re-collating results of Okaikwei Central, Tema Central, others

A High Court in Accra has reportedly dismissed an injunction application by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to stop the Electoral Commission of Ghana from re-collating the results of five constituencies where their parliamentary candidates had earlier been declared winners.

The action filed on Monday, December 16, 2024, sought an order of judicial review in the nature of declaration, certiorari, prohibition, and injunction.

Per the action, the NDC, which is the 1st Applicant, contends that declarations made in the December 7 elections in favour of Faustina Elikplim Akurugu (Dome Kwabenya), Baba Sadiq (Okaikwei Central), Ewurabena Aubynn (Ablekuma North), Ebi Bright (Tema Central), and Samuel Aboagye (Obuasi East) - 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th applicants respectively, cannot be re-collated and re-declared.

The NDC again submitted that the EC, following their earlier declarations, “has become functus officio and therefore cannot re-collate, recount, and re-declare the results of the already declared election results in the stated constituencies.”

The party also sought an order prohibiting the respondent from re-collating, re-counting, and re-declaring the already collated and declared parliamentary election results in the Dome Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, and Obuasi East constituencies.

However, during proceedings on Friday, December 20, 2024, the High Court, presided over by Justice Rev. Joseph Adu-Owusu Agyeman, threw out the application.

It indicated that there was a basis for the re-collation to be done. It went ahead to order the Electoral Commission of Ghana to go on with the re-collation.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, at a press briefing at the EC headquarters in Accra, said that returning officers who declared the results for the affected constituencies were forced to do so without following the required processes.

She added that in all of these constituencies, the winners were declared without the results from a significant number of polling stations.

In the Okaikwei Central Constituency, for instance, the EC boss pointed out that the winner was declared without the results of 31 polling stations, and in the Ablekuma North Constituency without the results of 62 polling stations.

“In Okaikwei Central, I did mention that 110 polling station results were used to declare a winner instead of 141. The commission would not uphold that process.

“In the Ablekuma North constituency, 219 polling station results were used to declare a winner instead of 281 polling station results. The commission would not uphold that declaration. In Tema Central, the DO again was threatened and he was forced to declare results using 146 polling stations instead of 148. The commission would not uphold that declaration,” Jean Mensa said.

BAI/AE

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