Supreme Court’s orders, effect in NDC’s application against EC’s re-collation of Parliamentary results
By DL News
Published
Updated
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The High Court's directive was in response to a mandamus application brought by New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidates from the affected areas.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court of Ghana has today partially upheld a certiorari application filed by the National Democratic Congress against a High Court order at the Electoral Commission to recollate parliamentary results of some seven disputed constituencies.
The High Court's directive was in response to a mandamus application brought by New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidates from the affected areas.
The court instructed the EC to carry out its constitutional mandate by verifying and re-collating the results in those constituencies.
The EC has completed re-collation in seven constituencies, leaving Dome/Kwabenya and Ablekuma North pending. However, the NDC has strongly opposed the recollection process and the court’s ruling, deeming it unlawful and lacking merit.
The NDC argued in its application for certiorari at the Supreme Court that the trial High Court refused their application of joinder to the mandamus suit, thereby denying its side a hearing despite making such an order, which adversely affected it.
Therefore, when the matter was called, the panel, presided over by Gabriel Pwamang JSC, granted the applicant’s application, thereby prohibiting the trial High Court Justice from continuing to sit on the matter.
In its analysis, the court affirmed the applicant’s (NDC’s) argument premised on the breach of the principle of natural justice by the trial High Court Justice, referring to Awuni v WAEC, Exparte Hawa Yakubu, and the like.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court quashed the recollated results done by the EC at Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, and Techiman South constituencies.
However, it directed that those for Nsawam Adoagyiri and Ahafo Ano East remain valid and prohibited the High Court Judge from sitting on the mandamus application filed by the NPP.
As a result, the court directed that the parties go back to the High Court for a fresh hearing on the application to be conducted on December 31, 2024, by a new justice.
The effect of the above is that, per its decision, the parliamentary results for those disputed constituencies, especially for the four, will revert to the status quo ante(original declaration done by the EC in the immediate aftermath of the 2024 polls) pending the determination of the mandamus application by the High Court and any orders to be made to the contrary if needs be.
