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The Koforidua High Court will today, January 6, deliver its much-anticipated judgement in the contentious parliamentary election petition for the Akwatia Constituency.
The ruling follows intense legal battles over the results of the December 7 general elections.
Presided over by His Worship Justice Senyo Amedahe, the court heard arguments on Sunday, January 5, from the legal team of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate, Ernest Kumi. The team sought to overturn an injunction that had earlier barred Kumi from being sworn in as the Member of Parliament-elect.
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The Akwatia parliamentary seat became a flashpoint after results declared by the Electoral Commission (EC) were challenged by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Henry Boakye Yiadom. On January 2, the court granted Yiadom’s request for an injunction, which temporarily halted Kumi’s swearing-in.
Yiadom’s petition alleged significant irregularities in the election process, calling the legitimacy of the results into question. “We are confident that justice will be served, and the will of the people upheld,” said Mintah Larbi, the NDC’s Eastern Regional Director of Legal Affairs, during Sunday’s proceedings.
Representing Ernest Kumi, NPP counsel Gary Nimako Marfo argued that the injunction was procedurally flawed. He emphasised that electoral disputes must adhere to the constitutional requirement of being filed within 21 days of the results being gazetted. “This injunction and the accompanying petition lack legal merit and should be dismissed outright,” Marfo stated.
The NPP legal team also contended that the injunction disrupts the democratic process and unfairly prevents their candidate from assuming office despite being declared the winner by the EC.
Updates will follow as the ruling is delivered.
