The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has taken legal action against the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) over what it describes as a clear case of contempt of court in the ongoing dispute surrounding the Ablekuma North parliamentary election.
According to the party’s General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, the EC defied a court directive by deciding to conduct a rerun of the election rather than collate and declare the outstanding polling station results as ordered by the court.
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“That is why we are in court. The EC has been cited for contempt,” Kodua said during an interview on PM Express on JoyNews, Tuesday, July 8. “The directive from the court is explicit. Go collate and declare. You cannot vary the order of the court.”
❗ Alleged Legal Breach by the Electoral Commission
Kodua insisted that the EC has no legal authority to unilaterally declare a rerun without first seeking a variation of the court’s directive.
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“It doesn’t lie in the hands of the EC to conduct a rerun simply for convenience. If the EC had concerns about the enforceability of the court’s directive, it should have gone back to the court,” he argued.
🔍 Background: Chaos and Collation Crisis
The NPP also raised concerns over the initial collation process, which was marred by disturbances and alleged political interference. Kodua criticized the Ghana Police Service for failing to secure the collation centre, suggesting that state institutions may have been influenced.
“Why did the police fail to provide security for us to collate results from the three outstanding polling stations? Was it because they were acting at the behest of this government?” he asked.
📊 Pink Sheet Evidence and Final Tally
Kodua revealed that the party had scanned and collated all 281 pink sheets before approaching the EC, and was confident in its candidate’s victory.
“Our candidate polled 34,613 votes, while the NDC candidate got 34,199, giving us a margin of 414 votes. That was based on hard evidence,” he stated.
He accused the EC of relying on these same documents earlier in the process, only to reverse course by now proposing fresh elections in 19 polling stations, which the NPP sees as an unjustified move.
🚫 NPP to Boycott Rerun
With tensions mounting ahead of the July 11 rerun, the NPP has declared that it will not participate in the elections unless the EC complies with the original court directive.
“The Electoral Commission must respect the rule of law. This action sets a dangerous precedent,” Kodua concluded.
source: myjoyonline
