COURT TO RULE ON AKWATIA ELECTIONS (PAGE 17)

A KOFORIDUA high court presided over by Justice Surrubarreh would on Friday rule whether or not a writ filed at the court, in connection with the recent elections in the Akwatia Constituency in the Eastern Region was proper.
The writ, which was filed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Baba Jamal Muhammed Ahmed, and two other Independent Candidates, Samuel Abrokwa and Basil Ahiable, prayed the court to order the Electoral Commission (EC) to re-run the elections in all the polling stations in the constituency, instead of six polling boots, since the elections in the entire constituency were fraught with malpractices.
On the February 16 sitting, Mr Amoako Adjei, the counsel for the New Patriotic Party candidate, Dr Kofi Asare, who came in as second defender, argued that the writ was not proper and that it should have been an election petition.
The counsel stated that there was an election in the Akwatia Constituency and if the plaintiffs had any grievances at all, they should seek redress at the court through an election petition but not a writ.
Mr Amoako Adjei, who based his argument on similar cases dealt by the court of law, stated that it was therefore improper for the plaintiffs to file the writ and prayed the court to strike it out and award cost against the plaintiffs.
“There has been an election and grievances associated with elections are dealt at the law court through petitions, but not writs. My lord, if plaintiffs have any grievances at all, they must come in through the proper channel, but they have come in through the wrong door,” the counsel contended.
Mr Amoako Adjei’s argument was vehemently opposed by Mr Carlos De-Souza, the counsel for Baba Jamal.
He told the court that since the ballot papers for the elections in the Akwatia Constituency were not counted for by the EC to declare the winner whose name should be sent to the Clerk of Parliament, after which the whole process should be gazetted, the Akwatia issue could not be said to be an election whose grievances should be redressed through a petition.
The counsel, therefore, prayed the court to consider the writ as properly filed and then go ahead with the substantive case to enable the Akwatia Constituency to have its representation in Parliament.
“In an election, ballot papers must be counted to determine the winner whose name should be gazetted and sent to the Clerk of Parliament but that has not been the case with what happened at Akwatia to be resolved with a petition,” Mr De-Souza contended.
He therefore prayed the court to consider the writ as properly filed so that it could go into it to resolve the impasse over who should represent the Akwatia Constituency in Parliament.
Mr James Quarshie-Idun, the counsel for the EC, in his turn, defined an election as a process to elect but not only when someone has been elected before it could be referred to as an election.
He told the court that although nobody was declared a winner in the case of Akwatia, the event there was an election.
After further arguments by the counsel for all parties, some of whom made references to legal statutes on similar cases, the Judge, Justice Surrubarreh, adjourned sittings to Friday, February 20 for ruling on the matter.