The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Volta Region has accused the Member of Parliament for Hohoe, John-Peter Amewu, of deliberately delaying the court case challenging the legitimacy of the election conducted in his constituency in December 2020.
About 17,000 voters from the Santrofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) enclave, made up of 13 communities, did not participate in the 2020 parliamentary elections and are left without representation in the 8th parliament due to the carving out of the Oti Region from the Volta Region.
Some five residents from SALL petitioned the High Court in Ho to nullify the parliamentary election that saw John-Peter Amewu become MP.
After making a late entry into the hearing of the petition, John-Peter Amewu at the last hearing introduced three new issues to the case, which the NDC in the region says is a ploy to delay the case.
The Volta Regional Secretary of the NDC, James Gunu, accused Amewu of deliberately delaying the court case in a media address.
“The Electoral Commission and the MP who benefitted from this crime, have conspired against the people of SALL and they want to buy time so that Peter Amewu will finish his tenure of office.
“This case started four years ago and we are still in court for a serious case like this. The court must make sure that a pronouncement is made on it as early as possible so that we do not wake up going into the 2024 elections and then the EC will issue an administrative fiat to disenfranchise people in this country.”
Meanwhile, the lawyer for John-Peter Amewu, Benedict Kofitse insists that the new applications are not deliberate to delay proceedings.
“We are in court applying the rules and the new applications that we have filed are not deliberate with the intention to delay proceedings. We are only moving within the express stipulation of the court.”
