Residents in the Upper East Region, while appreciating the quickness with which the Bolgatanga High Court has pronounced judgment on the Pusiga Parliamentary seat under contention, have asked that all the other court issues directly related to the 2020 General Election be addressed swiftly as well.
They say that addressing the many related issues will help bring finality to the matter and calm tensions while also helping to assuage the pain of families of persons who passed on in parts of the country during the election.
The residents who expressed these concerns were speaking to the Host of A1radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, Samuel Mbura. One resident who gave his name as Joseph said “the speed to which this Pusiga thing is happening, I wish they will be able to attach that same speed to all other electoral challenges in the court especially, Techiman South which I am so interested. I am interested because people died there”.
He continued to say that “about 8 families are suffering now even after the politicians signed an agreement that there will be peace before, during and after the election. These families are however still living in pain. When they are able to speed the process and end the case, now we can be looking at talking about justice for the people who died”.
Another caller cautioned the public should to be guided on the commentaries that would surround the judgment by the Bolgatanga High Court. He requested that people be watchful in likening the Pusiga situation to the recently ended Supreme Court case by John Dramani Mahama, Flagbearer of the NDC in the 2020 General Election. “We do not need to mix all of these things. Although they are all petitions around elections in this country, the dynamics are not the same,” he said.
Johnson Ayine, another caller who phoned into the programme expressed excitement about the proclamation by the court. “The lawyers who have consistently lambasted the decision of the Supreme Court decision of not allowing the Electoral Commission to mount the witness box. The NDC condemned the decision [by the Supreme Court] but when they came to Bolgatanga, they [the NDC] applied the same decision. They [the NDC] told the public that the Supreme Court intentionally prevented the EC from testifying,” he explained.
Court’s Pronouncement
The Electoral Commission of Ghana has been directed by a Bolgatanga High Court to mount the witness box in the ongoing contentious Pusiga seat in the Upper East Region.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) headed to court after the 2020 general elections citing some irregularities at some polling stations in the Pusiga Constituency that led to Hajia Lardi Ayamba of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) winning the seat.
The winning difference between both party’s was 63 votes with over 1600 rejected ballots.
The Petitioner who is the Parliamentary Candidate of the NPP in the 2020 general election, Abdul Karim Zanni Dubiure seeks a declaratory judgment that the EC erred when it declared Laadi Ayi Ayamba elected Member of Parliament for Pusiga Constituency and an order annulling the results of five polling stations.
The polling stations in contention in court are; Pusiga Dispensary,Terago Clinic,Teshie Nating Primary,Kayinchigu and Laatega polling stations.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHz| Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
