Story by Lawrence Odoom/ Phalonzy
Accra High Court has unequivocally dismissed an application filed by the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Ablekuma North, Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie, seeking to thwart the scheduled rerun of elections in 19 polling stations.
The court’s decisive verdict underscored the imperative of ensuring representation for the constituents of Ablekuma North, thereby upholding the sacrosanct principles of democracy.
Justice Ali Baba Abature, presiding over the case, astutely observed that the Electoral Commission (EC) would be well-positioned to provide adequate compensation to the applicant in the event that she succeeds in the substantive case. The court’s pronouncement highlighted the potential consequences of delaying the rerun, which could conceivably deprive the people of Ablekuma North of their fundamental right to parliamentary representation.
Counsel for the applicant, Gary Nimako, vociferously argued that the EC’s decision to rerun elections in 19 polling stations was arbitrary and capricious, constituting a blatant affront to the authority of the court.
He contended that the “pink sheets” from the polling stations in question had been duly signed and certified by party agents and presiding officers at the time of the original election, rendering any rerun both superfluous and unlawful.
“The EC’s decision is unjustified and amounts to a direct affront to the authority of the court,” Nimako averred. The EC, undeterred by the NPP’s stance, has scheduled the rerun for Friday, July 11, 2025, underscoring its unrelenting commitment to upholding the democratic process.
