Election 2024: Court Dismisses NDC's Objection Against NPP's Mandamus Application

• The National Democratic Congress's legal objection to the New Patriotic Party's Mandamus application has been dismissed
• The layer for the ND, Edudzi Tamakloe, argued that the NPP's Mandamus application is an election petition in disguise and that the proper jurisdiction of the court had not been invoked
• However, the Accra High Court presided over by Justice Forson Agyapong disagreed with the NDC, ruling that the proper jurisdiction had been invoked

The Accra High Court has dismissed the National Democratic Congress's (NDC) preliminary objection to the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) mandamus application.

Following the aftermath of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, the NPP filed a Mandamus application, seeking to compel the Electoral Commission (EC) to re-collate and declare the results of four constituencies currently under dispute.

At the hearing of the case on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, the lead counsel of the NDC, Laywr Edudzi Tamakloe challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case.

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Mr Tamakloe urged that the NPP's application was essentially an election petition disguised as a Mandamus.

However, delivering its judgement on the NDC's preliminary objection on Wednesday, January 1, 2024, Justice Forson Agyapong, presiding over the case, ruled that the court's jurisdiction had been properly invoked.

This ruling now paves the way for the court to proceed with the hearing of the substantive Mandamus application of the NPP.

Earlier orders of the High Court

Earlier the High Court ruled on the Mandamus application of the NPP, ording the Electoral Commission to recollate the parliamentary result for the Ablekuma North, Tema Central, Techiman South, and Okaikwei Central constituencies.

Following this, the NDC filed a case at the Supreme Court, challenging the decision of the High Court.

The NDC argued that the presiding Judge, Rev Fr Joseph Agyemang, refused to admit its application to join the Mandamus application.

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While making a case on why the NDC in the Supreme Court, lawyer Tamakloe further argued that the trial judge violated the NDC parliamentary candidates' right to a fair hearing during the mandamus hearing.

Lawyer Tamakloe also accused Rev Fr Joseph Agyemang of bias against the NDC and prayed the Supreme Court to appoint a new trial judge for the case.

Consequently, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court upheld the NDC's application, quashing the re-collated election results for Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, and Techiman South.

The Apex court ruled that the high court judge breached the NDC's candidates' right to a fair hearing, hence the ruling.

Bagbin speaks on collated results.

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that the speaker of parliament, Alban Bagbin broke his silence on the Electoral Commission's collated parliament results.

Speaking to the professional group of the NDC, Mr Bagbin stated that the announced MP-elects from the Electoral Commission recollation were not qualified to be sworn in by him in parliament.

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Bagbin says MPs-elect whose results were quashed by Supreme Court weren’t qualified to be sworn in

Speaker Bagbin said the process that led to their declarations violated the electoral laws of the country.

Source: YEN.com.gh