High Court prohibited from hearing Asutifi South election petition

Accra, April 8, GNA - The Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously declared that there should be no further hearing of the Asutifi South election petition at the Sunyani High Court.

This followed the granting of a certiorari application brought before it by Alhaji Collins Dauda, National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the constituency, which prayed the Supreme Court to quash the Sunyani High Court's ruling it delivered on the election petition on January 6.

The court's reason for its decision was that an election petition could only be filed after the Electoral Commission (EC) had declared a winner. By this ruling therefore the EC can now declare the winner for the Asutifi South Parliamentary seat.

After its unanimous decision had been read by Professor Justice Samuel Date-Bah, the court, presided over by Mr Justice William Atuguba, awarded cost of GH¢1,000 against Mr Yiadom Boakye-Boateng, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate who petitioned the High Court. The three other panel members were Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo, Mrs Justice Rose Owusu and Mr Justice Paul Baffor-Bonnie.

After the election on December 7, Mr Yiadom-Boakye petitioned the High Court to restrain the electoral officers in the Asutifi constituency from declaring the results. He alleged that the entire process of collating the results needed to be investigated, because apart from it being fraught with corrupt practices, the NDC candidate and the electoral officers were involved in electoral malpractices.

After the High Court overruled a preliminary objection raised by counsel for the NDC candidate on December 22, 2008, the Electoral Commission (EC) petitioned the Court of Appeal (CA) to order the High Court to stay proceedings on the matter. By the Supreme Court's unanimous decision on the matter, the EC is expected to declare the results of the Asutifi South Parliamentary Election.

Thereafter, the loser can file a petition at the High Court to challenge the results. Mr Sam Codjoe was counsel for Alhaji Dauda, while Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey and Mr E. O. Armah represented Mr Boakye-Boateng and the EC respectively.