High Court dismisses case against Tamale North MP

A Tamale High Court on Friday threw out a writ of summons brought against Mr. Alhassan Dahamani and the Electoral Commission, seeking to disqualify his candidature for the Tamale North seat.

The court, presided over by Justice Lawrence Mensah, a Supervising High Court Judge, ordered the plaintiff, Alhaji Abukari Sumani, to pay GHc500.00 to the defendant as cost for damages, and asked him (plaintiff) to file a petition since the parliamentary election was over.

After the case was thrown out, supporters of the defendant, who had besieged the court premises, went on spontaneous and wild jubilation.

They poured powder on Mr. Dahamani, who is now the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, after securing 11,899 as an independent candidate in the recent election.

The plaintiff, who is also the immediate past MP for the Tamale North, on the November 2, 2012, brought a case against the defendant, claiming that he could not be a candidate for the area since he was not a resident contrary to the representation of people’s law PNDC 284.

The plaintiff said that under the law, the defendant was supposed to have resided in the constituency “for an aggregate of five years” in order to qualify as a parliamentary candidate, stressing that the defendant had never resided in the area in his entire life.

Mr. Fatal Yakubu, counsel for the plaintiff, assured that there would be the filling of a petition soon and supporters of both camps must just be calm, and advised the new MP not jubilate.

Alhaji Mohammed Shaibu Abulai lawyer for Alhassan Dahamani claimed the defendant had won the case and the plaintiff had no other case to present in court, arguing that the 21 days by which election petitioners were supposed to file cases had elapsed on 14th January.

Alhaji Abulai, however, said the applicants could appeal against the ruling, instead attempting to file a petition, and added ‘as far as I am concern, they have no case’.

The Tamale North seat was keenly contested by eight candidates with Alhaji Abukari Sumani securing 10,885 behind the winner Alhassan Dahamani.