- NDC candidate challenges EC's results
- Suit filed at High Court to quash re-declaration
- EC's actions deemed "illegal" and "nullity"
Haruna Apaw Wiredu, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Fanteakwa North constituency in the Eastern Region, has filed a suit in the High Court in Koforidua to overturn the purported re-declaration of the parliamentary election results in the Greater Accra region.
The suit, lodged by Isaac Mintah Larbi, the lead counsel from Okore Chambers, calls for a judicial review that includes both certiorari and prohibition. Wiredu is seeking an order to prevent the Electoral Commission (EC) from issuing any documents, publications, or gazettes declaring Kwame Appiah Kodua, the NPP parliamentary candidate, as the winner.
This legal action follows the EC’s re-collation of results on December 12, which declared Kodua as the parliamentary candidate-elect for the Fanteakwa North constituency. The EC’s decision overturned the previous announcement made in Begoro, where Haruna Apaw Wiredu was initially declared the winner.
According to Zacharia Adams, the Returning Officer, the first set of results showed Wiredu receiving 11,138 votes, compared to Kodua’s 10,847. However, the EC claimed the initial declaration violated established electoral processes.
Isaac Mintah Larbi, who is also the Director of Legal Affairs for the NDC in the Eastern Region, argues that the EC’s actions contravened constitutional instruments (CIs) that forbid the re-collation, recounting, or re-declaration of already declared results. “The only option for anyone unhappy with the results is to take the matter to court,” he added.
Larbi further explained the basis for the lawsuit: “What we are asking the court to do is that the so-called re-declaration that the EC has done at Tesano is illegal. It is a nullity in law. They have no legal basis to do that, and the electoral laws of this country do not permit what they have done.”
He also emphasized the legal irregularities, noting, “We’ve moved to the High Court to ask it to quash the re-declaration at Tesano. This occurred two days after the Returning Officer in charge of the Fanteakwa North constituency had already declared the results in favour of Hon. Haruna Apaw Wiredu. For that reason alone, everything the EC did at Tesano is a complete nullity. It cannot be acceptable, it’s illegal.”
Larbi’s claims extend to the EC’s re-collation process at Tesano, particularly pointing out the reference to a “deputy returning officer” position, which is not recognized in Ghana’s electoral laws. “There is no position within the laws of this country that recognizes the title of deputy returning officer. So, that alone shows that everything they did in Tesano is a complete nullity. It’s not acceptable. It’s illegal,” he stated.
The High Court is expected to hear the case in the coming days, with Wiredu’s legal team urging a swift resolution to quash the EC’s re-declaration.
