Rev Fr Justice Joseph Agyemang ordered the re-collation of the 5 declared parliamentary results
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has filed an application at the Supreme Court, challenging the ruling of a High Court that nullified the declaration of five parliamentary seats it won in the just-ended December 7, 2024, general election.
A number of legal experts, including Kwame Boafo Akuffo and Justice Srem-Sai, have criticised Rev Fr Justice Joseph Agyemang, the High Court judge who gave the order for the recollation and redeclaration of the results of the five constituencies: Techiman South, Ablekuma North, Okaikwei Central, Tema Central, and Dome Kwabenya.
They have pointed out that the judge should have heard the five Members of Parliament-elect who were declared winners because “the fundamental rule of law is that a court cannot make a final decision which will adversely affect a person whom the court did not give an opportunity to present his or her side of the story”.
Justice Srem-Sai has given supposed details of what transpired in the court before the judge gave his ruling.
According to him, Rev Fr Justice Agyemang refused to listen to the affected NDC parliamentary candidates even though they were present in the court, together with their lawyers.
“Even though the NDC MPs and their lawyers were in the courtroom, the judge flatly refused to allow them to join the case, thereby refusing to hear their side of the story. He refused even though he knew very well that his decision would definitely affect them,” Srem-Sai wrote in a post shared on X on December 25, 2024.
He said that the reasons the judge gave for not hearing the NDC candidates were because the court was going for a Christmas break and the closeness of the swearing-in of the next parliament.
“[The NDC] Joinder Application at this stage should not operate as a setback on this [NPP] Application because of the urgent nature of the circumstances of this case.
“The Court is going for the Christmas holidays and the Parliamentarians would be sworn-in in the first week of January 2025. So it behoves on all of us to ensure that the Constituency in question be represented appropriately (sic),” the renowned legal practitioner quoted the judge as having said.
Meanwhile, although the Electoral Commission has declared 7 of some 9 disputed constituency elections in favour of the New Patriotic Party, two others are outstanding.
The two are Dome Kwabena and Ablekuma North constituencies.
BAI/AE
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Watch as Jean Mensa addresses issues with 9 constituencies whose results are yet to be declared
