Court to decide on collation of disputed constituencies today
The New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the Electoral Commission (EC) are set to appear in court on Tuesday, December 31, to resolve issues surrounding the collation of results in disputed constituencies, including Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, and Tema Central.
This follows a Supreme Court ruling overturning a High Court decision that had granted an NPP application compelling the EC to conduct re-collations in certain constituencies initially declared in favour of the NDC. Subsequently, the EC declared NPP candidates as winners in seven constituencies.
The NDC, dissatisfied with the re-collations, petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing that their candidates’ rights to natural justice had been violated because they were not given a hearing at the High Court. The party also accused the presiding judge of bias.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court agreed that the NDC candidates’ rights to natural justice had been breached and overturned the High Court’s decision. However, the apex court found no evidence of bias on the judge’s part but directed that the case be reassigned to a new judge.
The High Court is now tasked with deciding the fate of the disputed constituencies—Techiman South, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, and Tema Central—during its Tuesday session.
