… In SALL election petition case
A High Court judge in Ho, the Volta Regional capital, Justice Owoahene Acheampong, yesterday condemned what he described as the “lackadaisical attitude” of the Electoral Commission (EC) towards the case in which the people of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) Traditional areas of the Oti Region, felt disfranchised at the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
The EC, which is the 1st respondent in the matter, has either refused or failed to obey the orders of the High Court since February, directing them to file additional issues.
Aside from not filing, they were not in court yesterday to prosecute their defence.
Interestingly, the lawyer of John Peter Amewu, the Minister for Railway Development, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, who was declared the winner of the Parliamentary election in Hohoe, was represented by his lawyer, Benedict Kofitse.
Justice Owoahene Acheampong, who was visibly unhappy with the conduct of the EC presided by a lawyer, Jean Mensah, has since fixed new dates for the election petition hearing filed by Prof Margaret Kweku,, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate and others from the SALL traditional areas, to 3rd, 11th, 20th and 21st of June 2024.
There was no appearance for the EC, leading Justice Owoahene Acheampong to state “I must put on record that this Court condemns the lackadaisical attitude of the 1st Respondent [Electoral Commission] in this matter.
All parties in the case, have been ordered to file their Witness Statements and any documents they may wish to rely on within 10 days.
Additionally, the Electoral Commission, was ordered to file “authentic copies of C.I 119, C.I 128, as well as the list of voters they registered in the SALL Traditional areas within 10 days”.
The court, therefore, ordered that a hearing notice be served on the Director of Operations of the EC in Accra, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, as well as the lawyer for the EC, Sekyi Boampong, to ensure their attendance before the court on the next court sitting.
The court, had set four issues filed by the lawyer for the petitioners for trial, following orders it made on April 24, 2024.
The court, also ordered that the parties file simultaneously their witness statements together with any documents they may wish to rely upon at the trial within ten (10) days from yesterday, May 21, 2024.
The court also specifically ordered the EC ‘ to file authentic copies of C.I 119, C.I 128, as well as the list of voters they registered in the SALL traditional areas within 10 days from yesterday.
The case was adjourned to June 3, 2024, for case management and three dates in June 2024 (11th, 20th and 21st) for hearing.
The issues set down by the court for the trial are; whether the Representation of the People (Parliamentary Constituencies) Instrument, 2016, C.I. 95 was validly amended by the Representation of the People (Parliamentary Constituencies) Instrument, 2020, C.I. 128, for the elections in December 2020;
Whether C.I. 112, made Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) Traditional Areas part of the Oti Region;
Whether C.I. 119 issued by the 1st Respondent lawfully realigned the boundaries of the Hohoe Municipality as established by the Local Government (Hohoe Municipal Assembly) (Establishment) Instrument, 2012, L.I. 2151;
Whether or not, the non-participation of voters in the SALL Traditional Areas in the Hohoe Constituency Parliamentary election of 7th December 2020, invalidates the gazetting of the 2nd Respondent as the duly elected Member of Parliament for the Hohoe Constituency.
The case management hearing set for the 3rd of June 2024, was after the Court heard lawyers acting for the petitioners, Tsatsu Tsikata and Philip Jimanor, as well as Benedict Kofitse for Peter Amewu.
Justice Owoahene Acheampong, ordered a hearing notice in respect of the next sitting of the court to be served on the EC’s Director of elections and its lawyer to ensure their attendance in court.
