The 2020 National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Hohoe constituency, Prof. Margaret Kweku, and four others, are urging the Ho High Court to set aside the election results that led to the former Energy Minister, John Peter Amewu being sworn in as Hohoe Member of Parliament (MP).
They want fresh elections to be conducted.
The others, who have joined the NDC candidate to file the parliamentary election petition are Simon Alan Opoku Mintah, John Kwame Obimpeh, Godfred Koku Kofie, and Felix Quarshie.
These are residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL).
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The Electoral Commission (EC) and the former Energy Minister have been named as defendants.
The NDC candidate and the SALL residents had prior to Mr Amewu’s swearing-in as MP secured a 10-day injunction at the Ho High Court.
They had argued that the failure of the EC to allow them to vote in the parliamentary elections breached their rights guaranteed under Ghana’s constitution.
SALL case at Supreme Court
The Supreme Court stopped short of setting aside the injunction because it had elapsed when it was asked to intervene by the Attorney General.
The Apex Court nonetheless held that the residents should have filed an election petition since they were challenging the validity of Mr Amewu’s election.
The court, therefore, set aside portions of the case filed at the Ho High Court that related to the validity of the election leaving the human rights aspect at the court.
The residents have now filed an election petition and are pushing for a fresh election.
New petition
The petition contends that the SALL areas at all material times were part of the Hohoe Constituency.
It argues further that, not allowing the residents to vote inured to the benefit of Mr Amewu since the NDC candidate enjoyed strong support from SALL.
They, therefore, want the court to set aside the elections for a fresh one to be organised allowing the SALL residents to vote.
This brings to seven, the number of parliamentary petitions filed so far. The NDC’s losing candidate Christopher Beyere Baasongti is challenging the election of Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah as MP for Techiman South while cases have been filed against the election of NDC’s James Quayson at Assin North and Joseph Kwame Kumah who won the Kintampo North polls.
Read full petition below: