The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary
candidate for Ahafo Ano North in the Ashanti Region, Mr Richard
Akuoko-Adiyia, has filed a petition at the Kumasi High Court challenging
the declaration of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Mr
Akwasi Adusei, as winner of the 2012 parliamentary election in the
constituency.
This is the first legal challenge to the 2012 parliamentary elections to be mounted from the camp of the NPP.
Last
Saturday, the NPP Communications Director, Nana Akomea, hinted on Joy
FM that the party would challenge the parliamentary results in 38
constituencies alongside the presidential election, which is already
before the Supreme Court.
Chief State Attorney in charge of the
Ashanti Region, Mr William Kpobi, confirmed in an interview with the
Daily Graphic Tuesday that his outfit had been served with the
petition.
The respondents in the case are the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Attorney General's Department, Kumasi.
Mr
Akuoko-Adiyia, through his lawyers, Owusu Bempah Law Chambers, is
seeking a declaration that the irregularities practised by the EC
officials who were in charge of elections in the constituency affected
the authenticity of the elections and therefore rendered the outcome
null and void.
The petitioner is also praying the court for any other reliefs that it would deem fit.
In
his statement of claim, Mr Akuoko-Adiyia said the elections were
regulated by the Public Elections Regulations, 2012 and the
Representation of the People Law, 1992 (PNDCL 284).
Besides, C.I. 75, among other things, set the rules by which the elections were to be conducted.
According
to the statement, to ensure free and fair elections, various
pre-designed sheets were issued out by the EC to gather data for
verification and authentication of results from each polling station
where elections were held.
The returning officer in the
constituency was to fill and sign the sheets which would be
countersigned by candidates contesting the election or their agents.
"The
purpose of the sheets was principally to serve as accounting and
auditing mechanisms in order to ensure compliance with electoral rules
and fairness to all the candidates," the statement said.
It said the
EC officials in the constituency in "flagrant disregard for the rules,
regulations and guidelines governing the election, either by deliberate
conduct or circumstances that can best be explained by them, did not
properly account for ballots issued to various polling stations, thus
occasioning a serious irregularity."
The statement further
indicated that 835 ballots were not accounted for in 17 polling stations
in the constituency because of the widespread irregularities.
It
said the elections were also held without biometric verification in
three polling stations in contravention of electoral laws as contained
in C.1. 75.
The irregularities, according to the statement,
affected the authenticity and credibility of the declared results, which
gave Mr Adusei 18,841 votes as against 18,418 by the petitioner.
Story by Kwame Asare Boadu
