The High Court has granted the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) application, ordering the Electoral Commission (EC) to collate and declare the final results of the Tema Central parliamentary election.
The Court further directed the EC to complete the collation process for the two outstanding polling stations and declare the results by January 6, 2025.
Presided over by Justice Forson Agyapong Baah, the Court also instructed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to provide adequate security during the collation process to ensure a smooth and peaceful exercise.
The ruling follows an application filed by a parliamentary candidate in the December 7, 2024, elections, who sought to compel the EC to finalize and announce the results for the constituency.
The case arose from claims that the EC had failed to collate results from polling stations C231/07 and C231/30, leaving two of the 148 polling stations unaccounted for.
The applicant argued that this omission rendered the election results incomplete and unlawful.
It was further alleged that disruptions during the collation process caused inconsistencies, and that an unauthorized person had unlawfully declared the first interested party as the winner.
In its judgment, the Court addressed two critical issues: whether the EC fulfilled its constitutional and statutory duty to collate and declare results from all polling stations, and whether the declaration of the first interested party as the winner was valid under electoral laws.
Justice Forson Agyapong Baah emphasized that under Article 51 of the 1992 Constitution and Regulation 3(4)(3) of the Public Elections Regulations (C.I. 127), the EC is mandated to declare the candidate with the highest number of valid votes based on the results of all polling stations.
The Court found that the EC had only collated results from 146 polling stations, leaving the two remaining stations unaddressed.
This, the Court ruled, constituted a failure to perform its statutory and constitutional duties.
It further emphasized that only a duly appointed returning officer has the authority to declare election results.
The declaration by an unauthorized individual was therefore deemed irregular, illegal, and procedurally improper.
Based on these findings, the Court issued a mandamus order compelling the EC to collate the results from the two outstanding polling stations and declare the candidate with the highest votes as the winner.
It also mandated that the EC ensure all results are collated by an authorized returning officer, as required by law.
Additionally, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) was directed to provide adequate security to facilitate the EC’s completion of the collation and declaration processes without further disruptions.
The Court’s decision reaffirms the importance of strict adherence to constitutional and statutory requirements in the declaration of election results.
It underscores the critical role of the Electoral Commission in upholding the integrity and transparency of Ghana’s democratic processes.
By setting this precedent, the ruling strengthens mechanisms for resolving electoral disputes and promotes confidence in the nation’s electoral system.
