The High Court in Ghana has dismissed an application by Nana Akua Afriyie, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2024 parliamentary candidate for Ablekuma North.
Her application sought to halt a planned rerun of parliamentary elections in 19 polling stations within the constituency.
Justice Ali Baba Abature, who presided over the case, ruled that the application for the injunction lacked merit.
He emphasised that the “balance of convenience” favoured the Electoral Commission’s (EC) constitutional duty to ensure representation for the people of Ablekuma North in Parliament.
In legal terms, “balance of convenience” is a test courts use when considering an injunction, weighing the potential benefits and harms to all parties involved, and often prioritizing the public interest.
The applicant had argued that the EC’s decision to rerun elections in 19 polling stations contradicted an earlier High Court ruling from January 4, 2025.
That ruling had directed the EC to complete the collation of results from 62 outstanding polling stations and declare a winner for the December 7, 2024, parliamentary election.
Gary Nimako, lead counsel for Nana Akua Afriyie, stated that the EC itself had acknowledged, in public communications including a press release dated January 27, 2025, and a parliamentary briefing by Deputy EC Chair Dr. Bossman Asare, that only three polling stations remained uncollated after the January 4 ruling.
He contended that this decision to rerun elections in 19 polling stations was therefore unjustified and a “direct affront to the court’s authority.”
Nimako further argued that results from all polling stations, known as “pink sheets,” had already been certified by party agents and presiding officers at the time of the election, making a rerun “both unnecessary and unlawful.”
He referenced Regulation 42 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I. 127), stating that “A rerun can only occur if there is a tie,” a condition the EC has not claimed. He also suggested that if the EC faced challenges with the January 4 judgment, they should have sought clarification from the High Court rather than unilaterally opting for a rerun, which they characterized as a “contemptuous act.”
The EC was not present in court to respond to the motion, as it was filed Ex parte (without the presence of the other party).
Justice Abature asked the applicant if she had shown that the results could legally be collated without further verification by presiding officers, something counsel failed to establish clearly under the provisions of C.I. 127.
In his ruling, Justice Abature reaffirmed the EC’s constitutional mandate to conduct elections.
He concluded that any delay in allowing the rerun would deprive the people of Ablekuma North of “their right to representation in Parliament.”
He dismissed the application, stating, “After a careful and painstaking reading of the applicant’s motion paper, affidavit in support, statement of case as filed, as well as the supplementary affidavit… the application for injunction against the respondent is dismissed as unmeritorious.”
The judge went on to state that as a state institution, the EC “would be in a position to compensate the applicant with damages if she is successful in her substantive legal challenge.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
