The Supreme Court has overturned the Electoral Commission’s (EC) pronouncements for Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, and Techiman South, annulling the results of the re-collated parliamentary elections for these constituencies.
The decision is made in the middle of heated political and legal arguments over the recollation procedure.
However, Nsawam Adoagyiri and Ahafo Ano North were not impacted by the ruling because the court maintained the re-collated results for them.
This historic ruling emphasizes how crucial the judiciary is to resolving electoral anomalies and guaranteeing rigorous respect to procedural and constitutional standards.
The decision comes after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) filed a lawsuit against a contentious December 20 High Court verdict that ordered the EC to re-collect results in nine contested constituencies.
Seven of the nine constituencies, all of which were won by candidates from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have seen the EC implement the decision thus far. Results for Ablekuma North and Dome/Kwabenya, however, are still pending.
The re-collation process was strongly criticized by the NDC, who called it illegal and defective. The party contends that the High Court overreached itself, jeopardizing the electoral process’s integrity and transparency.
More
Delivering the ruling in Accra on Friday, Justice Gabriel Pwamang, presiding judge noted that “Since the orders which have been brought to be quashed are separate and distinct we have decided to exercise our discretionary power to quash by certiorari having required to the peculiar circumstances of each ruling.
“Consequently, we hereby quash the orders of mandamus made for collation of results by the EC in the following constituencies Okawkwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central and Techiman South.”
When the NDC parliamentary candidates went to the High Court, the court determined that the trial judge had denied them a fair hearing.
The contentious re-collection carried out by the Electoral Commission and the ensuing declarations for the relevant constituencies are directly contested by this ruling.
The court went on to explain that the mandamus application is still pending and will be heard by the High Court on Tuesday, December 31st, even though it has been annulled.
