The New Patriotic Party (NPP) today Friday (8 January, 2021) filed an election petition at the Tamale High Court challenging the eligibility of the newly sworn in National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Savelugu in the northern region, Alhaji Abdulai Jacob Iddriss in the 7 December, 2020 general election.
The Petitioner, Muhamed Abdul-Samed Gunu, the 2020 Parliamentary Candidate of the NPP is asserting the election was witnessed widespread electoral malpractice and irregularities; therefore the declaration made by the 1st Respondent herein the Electoral Commission (EC) that the 2nd Respondent herein the National Democratic Congress Parliamentary Candidate, Abdulai Jacob Iddriss won the election was invalid.
The petitioner maintained the gross malpractices substantially and materially affected the results of the election as declared by the EC in favor of the NDC Candidate.
Lawyer Sylvester Isang, Counsel for the Petitioner in an exclusive interview with THE CUSTODIAN said his client is dissatisfied with the election outcome because of serious fraud surrounding most of the results in various polling stations.
He noted one classical example is the EC Presiding Officer who voted in one of the polling station where he is not a registered voter.
“If you have an EC official who is not registered at a particular polling station to vote and he did not transfer his vote to that polling station, what on earth would make that officer cast a vote” he queried.
The Counsel disclosed there were also some instances of over voting in not less than eight polling stations where the declared votes exceed the number of ballot papers issued.
He added issues of clear disregard to both biometric and manual verification procedures as required by law have been detected.
“So obviously, our contention is that if you were to take away the votes of the polling stations in which there was fraud or widespread irregularities, obviously the 1st Respondent would not have declared the NDC candidate as the winner of the 7 December polls for the Savelugu constituency. It would’ve been the petitioner who would’ve been the winner of the election” he indicated.
The Lawyer stated article 9(9) of the constitution and section 16 of the legislation of the People’s Law gives right to his client to petition the High Court to challenge the propriety of the elections.
Reliefs sought by petitioner
The petitioner therefore is praying the court to declare that, the NDC candidate on account of votes that ought to have been validly declared, is not the validly elected Member of Parliament for the Savelugu constituency and that, Muhammed Abdul Samed Gunu on account of votes that ought to have been validly declared is rather validly elected as Member of Parliament for the Savelugu constituency pursuant to the Parliamentary Election held on 7 December, 2020.
The alternative to these reliefs, the Petitioner according to Lawyer Sylvester is further praying the court to declare that the votes recorded at the affected polling stations of the 2020 Savelugu Parliamentary elections where malpractices and irregularities occurred infringed the constitutional and statutory provisions and regulations governing the conduct of parliamentary elections are null, void and of no legal effect; or declare that the whole of the 2020 parliamentary election held in the Savelugu constituency was so fraught and vitiated with violations of the statutory provisions and regulations governing the conduct of the parliamentary election, electoral malpractices and irregularities that same is null, void and of no legal effect; or consequential order(s) as to the court may seem meet.
