Mr. Godwin Tameklo, counsel for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), speaking during the hearing of a mandamus application seeking to compel the EC to collate results in four disputed constituencies, argued that the NPP’s own applicant admitted in an affidavit that a declaration was made, albeit without incorporating results from two polling stations.
Mr. Tameklo, dismissed claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the declaration of Ebi Bright as the winner of the Tema Central Constituency parliamentary election on December 7, 2024, was not conducted by an Electoral Commission (EC) official.
To bolster his argument, Mr. Tameklo referred the court to a letter written by one of the NPP applicants, Charles Forson, addressed to the EC.
In the letter, Mr. Forson requested that the EC direct the returning officer to properly collate and declare the results in accordance with the law.
According to Mr. Tameklo, this admission underscores that a proper declaration had already been made by the EC, rendering the NPP’s request for collation unnecessary.
“It is not the duty of this court to determine who won an election.
They are inviting the court onto a very slippery path,” he said.
“In a mandamus application, if this court starts making findings on alleged thuggery, intimidation, duress, and breaches of the law, what then will be left for an election petition?”
He further asserted that mandamus cannot be used to resolve disputed demands of this nature.
Mr. Tameklo also cited a December 21, 2020, letter from the then-Minority Caucus requesting the EC to re-collate results in certain disputed constituencies.
The EC’s response was clear: “Once results have been declared, a dissatisfied party cannot request for a re-collation.”
He emphasized that the EC’s current position, suggesting that it could revisit and possibly re-declare results after a declaration, lacked any legal basis.
NPP Pushes for Completion of Collation
In contrast, lawyers for the NPP, led by Gary Nimako Marfo, maintained that the collation process in the Tema Central Constituency was incomplete due to alleged intimidation.
They argued that the individual who declared the NDC candidate, Ebi Bright, as the winner was not an authorized EC returning officer.
Mr. Marfo, during the hearing at the Accra High Court on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, presented video evidence in open court, claiming that the person seen in the footage holding an A4 sheet and purporting to declare the results was one Mr. John Nunoo, not the EC’s returning officer, Mr. Kwesi Brobbey.
Mr. Marfo is urging the court to compel the EC to complete the collation process and declare the rightful winner.
The video also captured Malik Basintale, Deputy National Communications Officer of the NDC, saying, “Our issue is not with the police; our issue is with the EC officer.
We will bring him out to declare Ebi Bright.
Whether he likes it or not, he will declare the results here, and if the NPP does not like it, they can go to court.”
Mr. Marfo argued that accepting such actions would set a dangerous precedent for Ghana’s democracy.
“If the position canvassed in the affidavit of the interested parties is allowed to stand, it will mean that anyone can invade a collation center and purport to declare results without incorporating the full polling station votes or adhering to the proper forms prescribed by law,” he said.
He stressed that incomplete collation disenfranchises voters and undermines electoral integrity.
