A former Tamale Central MP, Inusah Fuseini, has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of creating a constitutional crisis in Ghana through its handling of disputed parliamentary election results.
Speaking on Joy News’ Newsfile on Monday, December 28, the private legal practitioner expressed concern over the EC’s decision to comply with a High Court order for the re-collation of results in nine constituencies, describing it as both unnecessary and procedurally flawed.
“The Electoral Commission has led us into a situation where we are now struggling as a country to extricate ourselves,” Fuseini stated.
He stated that the EC’s actions have exacerbated tensions and undermined the legal framework that governs electoral disputes.
His comments come after the Supreme Court quashed results in the re-collation of votes Tema Central, Ablekuma North, Techiman South, and Okaikwei Central in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
The apex court added that the order does not affect Ahafo Ano North and Nsawam Adoagyiri results.
According to the court, the trial judge violated the right to a hearing of the NDC Parliamentary Candidates when they applied to the High Court.
Mr Fuseini referenced Constitutional Instrument (CI) 127, which details the steps aggrieved candidates must take to challenge election results.
He argued that the EC’s rush to re-collate the disputed results contravened these provisions.
“It appears to me that we ought not to have been in any rush at all into re-collating the results of the disputed constituencies,” he said.
The former legislator suggested that the situation could have been resolved more effectively if the EC had waited for the election results to be gazetted, allowing aggrieved parties to pursue their cases through the courts.
“Which of these issues could not have been resolved if we had simply waited for the results to be gazetted and the aggrieved party takes the matter to court?” he questioned.
Fuseini also pointed out the inherent conflict in the EC’s role in this matter, accusing the Commission of acting as an interested party rather than an impartial arbiter.
“We have been put into a constitutional crisis today because the EC appears to be the interested party in this case,” he remarked.
Fuseini’s critique highlighted what he perceives as the EC’s failure to adhere to its constitutional mandate, a misstep that he believes has thrown Ghana’s democratic processes into disarray.
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