The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Fanteakwa North constituency in the Eastern region, has filed a suit at a High Court in Koforidua seeking to quash the purported re-declaration of the parliamentary election results at Tesano in the Greater Accra region.
The suit, filed by Isaac Mintah Larbi, lead counsel of Okore Chambers, seeks an order of judicial review, including certiorari and prohibition.
The candidate, Haruna Apaw Wiredu, also wants the court to restrain the EC from issuing any publication, gazette, or document in the name of the NPP parliamentary candidate, Kwame Appiah Kodua.
Kodua was declared the parliamentary candidate-elect for the constituency following the EC’s re-collation of results on December 12.
The EC, named as the respondent in the case, nullified the earlier declaration of Haruna Apaw Wiredu as the winner at the constituency capital, Begoro, claiming it was against established electoral processes.
According to the Returning Officer, Zacharia Adams, the initial results showed the NDC candidate secured 11,138 votes against Kwame Kodua’s 10,847 votes.
Isaac Mintah Larbi, who also serves as the Director of Legal Affairs for the NDC in the Eastern Region, explained that the EC’s actions violated constitutional instruments (CIs) which prohibit re-collating, recounting, or re-declaring already declared results. The only option for anyone unhappy with the results is to take the matter to court,” he added.
“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,” Mr Larbi said.
“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.”
Mr Larbi further emphasized that there is no legal provision in Ghana’s electoral laws for the role of “deputy returning officer,” a position referenced in the EC’s re-collation process at Tesano.
“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.
