The High Court has postponed its decision on the NPP’s mandamus application pertaining to the Tema Central, Okaikwei Central, Techiman South, and Ablekuma North constituencies until January 4, 2025.
This ruling comes after the court previously rejected an objection from the NDC that questioned the court’s authority to consider the application.
The NPP’s lawyers contended that the Electoral Commission (EC) ought to be forced to finish compiling the results in the impacted seats. The head of the NPP candidates’ legal team, Gary Nimako, claimed that the EC had not finished the collation process between December 8, 2024, and January 1, 2025.
Nimako stressed that constituents in these locations had a right to know the outcome and the victorious candidates, calling this delay “irrational.”
He added that there is no proof to back up the NDC’s allegation that declarations were made in the impacted areas. In response to video footage that was shown in court, Nimako argued that the alleged declaration in Tema Central was made by someone other than the returning officer, which is illegal.
Regulation 43 of C.I. 127, which mandates that results be recorded on the Electoral Commission’s Forms 1C and 1D, was mentioned by Nimako. He maintained that the assertion that appropriate declarations were not made is supported by the exhibits’ lack of these forms.
Additionally, he pointed out that the Electoral Commission admitted that the declarations were made before the results from the polling stations had been fully compiled.
In support of the NPP’s suit, the Electoral Commission, represented by Justin Amenuvor, sought the court to mandate that it fulfill its obligation. Amenuvor acknowledged that the concerned constituencies’ collation procedures were still lacking. He cautioned that not issuing such an order may create a risky precedent that might allow illegal meddling in elections in the future.
Lawyers for the NDC candidates, meanwhile, resisted the application. The NDC’s Godwin Tameklo said that a demand that has been turned down is a requirement for issuing a mandamus. He insisted that in this instance, no such demand had been made.
Tameklo also cited the video footage, claiming that it showed that a Tema Central case declaration had already been made. He asserts that a petition, not a mandamus, should be used to contest the legality of this pronouncement.
The Electoral Commission’s legal responsibilities and the processes for settling election disputes in the impacted constituencies are anticipated to be clarified by the court’s decision on January 4, 2025.
