Group Hopes Tema High Court Nullifies NPP Tema East Elections

The Tema High Court will on Wednesday, March 14, 2018, hear an application from four New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s polling station executives calling for the nullification of Tema East Constituency polling station elections held recently.

The four applicants are: Mr Adolph Vanderpuye, Mr Justice K. Aba-Billa, Madam Monica Teinor and Mr Yaw Owusu-Manu while the defendants to the suit are the NPP’s National Chairman, Regional Chairman and Tema East Constituency Chairman.

In a writ of summons filed by K. San Law Firm, solicitors for the polling station executives at the Court on February 28, the aggrieved members asked for “an order nullifying the polling station elections conducted on the 20th and 21st of January, 2018 to elect polling station officers in the Tema East Constituency”.

They also prayed for an order directing the defendants to sell new nomination forms to members of the party aspiring for positions at the polling stations and a fresh election conducted.

The applicants further wanted an injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, assigns, among others from concluding any further elections using the newly compiled albums to conduct any election within the constituency.

In their statement of claim, the plaintiffs noted the nomination forms for the election which were supposed to arrive at the constituency office on January 16th for aspirants to purchase “found their way into the office of the MP”.

They added that the sale of the forms rather began in the evening of January 18thand 11:00 hours of January 19th without adequate publicity to prospective aspirants.

The plaintiffs indicated that all aspirants who got wind of the sale late, rushed to purchase, completed the forms and submitted it at about 14:00 hours had their forms rejected on the grounds that nomination has closed.

“According to plaintiffs, the Research and Election Officer who was present at that time, collected the rejected forms which were closed to 500 but on the day of the election that is Saturday, 20th January, 2018, the chairman at PSEC declared those whose forms were in his custody as having to be duly elected unopposed”,

It added that the polling station executives and some concerned members, petitioned both the constituency, and regional secretariat of the party about the irregularities, illegalities and malpractices but nothing was done.

They concluded that “the polling station election of Tema East Constituency has been compromised by illegalities, thus undermining the constitution of the NPP and the NPP rules and regulations governing polling station elections.

Meanwhile, a similar application filed and moved at the Tema High Court ‘A’ on February 27, was dismissed on grounds that it was “premature”.

Source: GNA