Justice Owoahene Acheampong, at the High Court in Ho yesterday, expressed his displeasure at the absence of the lawyer for the Electoral Commission (EC), Justin Amenuvor in the case in which some approximately 17,000 Ghanaian voters from the Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi, and Likpe (SALL) traditional areas, were disenfranchised at the 2020 general elections.
This occurred during the hearing of an application by the petitioners’ lawyer, Philip Jimanor, for leave to file amended replies to the answers submitted by both the 1st Respondent (the EC) and the 2nd Respondent, John Peter Amewu, to the petition.
The case, initiated by Prof. Margaret Kweku and four others, challenges the declaration of Amewu as the winner of the Hohoe parliamentary seat, citing the disenfranchisement.
It is a case of the EC, as always not being ready to speak about its conduct after the 2020 polls as happened in the 2020 election petition hearing in the Supreme Court where the chairperson, Jean Mensa, refused to enter the witness box to speak to the result she declared for the presidential context, and was supported by the 7-member panel of judges.
Justice Owoahene Acheampong referred to a previous occasion, when he had similarly commented on the absence of the previous EC lawyer, Mr Sekyi-Boampong, highlighting a recurring issue with the EC’s legal representation.
Benedict Kofitse, appeared for Mr Amewu and did not oppose the application. The judge granted the petitioners’ application and adjourned the case to tomorrow, Thursday, June 20, 2024.
The trial is set to continue on June 20 and 21, 2024.
To date, no witness statement has been filed on behalf of the EC. However, the EC, has submitted the list of registered voters in the SALL traditional areas at the time of the December 7, 2020, parliamentary election, as ordered by the court on June 3, 2024.
Ahead of yesterday’s session, the EC, made a significant change in its legal representation, replacing its previous lawyer, Sekyi-Boampong, with Justin Amenuvor, who represented the EC during the 2020 election petition filed by NDC and its presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama. This change comes as the case approached crucial trial dates.
Prof. Kweku’s witness statement, filed on May 30, 2024, argues that the EC’s actions violated the Public Elections Regulations (C.I. 95) and the 1992 Constitution.
She asserts that the EC’s decision to prevent SALL voters from participating in the parliamentary election while allowing them to vote in the presidential election was unconstitutional. This decision allegedly impacted the election outcome, as Amewu won with 26,952 votes against Kweku’s 21,821.
The respondents, including the EC and Amewu, claim that C.I. 95 was amended by C.I. 128, a point contested by the petitioners. They argue that any alteration to constituency boundaries under C.I. 128 was unconstitutional, as it did not comply with the required intervals and conditions set out in the Constitution.
The witness statement also highlights the EC’s failure to follow constitutional provisions and the Local Governance Act, leading to the disenfranchisement of SALL voters.
The petitioners seek to annul Amewu’s election and demand a new parliamentary election that includes all registered voters in the Hohoe constituency.
As of the close of business on Friday, May 31, 2024, the deadline given by the court, no witness statement has been filed by the EC or Mr. Amewu, currently the Railway Development Minister in the Akufo-Addo government.
In her witness statement, Prof. Kweku states that the Hohoe constituency was specified by the EC in the Public Elections Regulations Constitutional Instrument Number 95 of 2016 (C.I. 95) as one of the 275 constituencies established for public elections in Ghana. The C.I. 95 was never validly revoked, revised, repealed, or otherwise amended and should have been used for the Parliamentary elections on December 7, 2020, allowing every registered voter in the constituency to exercise their right to vote as provided in Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution.
However, the 17,000 registered voters in the SALL traditional areas were denied a vote by a press statement issued by the EC on the evening of December 6, 2020, stating that voters in the SALL area could vote only in the Presidential election but not in the Parliamentary elections. This decision violated the constitutional responsibilities of the EC and affected the election outcome.
The witness statement indicates that while the Respondents admitted that C.I. 95 established the Hohoe constituency, they claimed that C.I. 95 had been amended by C.I. 128. The petitioners argue that this amendment was unconstitutional and invalid, as it did not comply with Article 47(5) of the 1992 Constitution, which sets specific intervals and conditions for altering constituencies.
The EC’s conduct has denied registered voters in the SALL traditional areas their democratic participation and right to equality before the law, as guaranteed by Article 17 of the Constitution. The petitioners seek to have the court set aside Amewu’s election and order a new parliamentary election for the Hohoe constituency, including all duly registered voters as established by C.I. 95.
The EC, on May 30, 2024, complied with a court order to file authentic copies of the Constitutional Instrument 119 of 2019 (the District Electoral Areas and Designation of Units Regulations) and Constitutional Instrument 128 of 2020 (the Representation of People (Parliamentary Constituencies) Instrument), as well as the list of registered voters in the SALL traditional areas.
