NDC runs to appeal court …now says there was collation in Techiman South

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Techiman South constituency has shifted from its initial position that the Electoral Commission (EC) did not collate the constituency results in 2020 elections.

The new position of the party has shifted to a new one which is that the EC did the collation of results in the constituency but it was not properly done.

Meanwhile the party and its leaders have consistently told Ghanaians that the Techiman South Member of Parliament, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah did not win the 2020 polls and that there was no collation done.

The NDC Caucus in parliament even held a press conference to that effect where speakers at the conference were categorical that there was no collation done by the EC at Techiman South.

The NDC 2020 Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency, Christopher Beyere Baasongti, has filed a petition at the Wenchi High Court to challenge the results of the parliamentary election in the constituency.

NO COLLATION

In his suit filed at the High Court in Wenchi, Christopher Beyere Baasongti wants the declaration of Mr. Adjei-Mensah Korsah of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as the winner of the parliamentary elections to be quashed.

Christopher Beyere Baasongti also wants the Electoral Commission to be compelled to collate polling station results in the constituency in the presence of the representatives of the candidates.

In the suit by Christopher Beyere Baasongti, he claimed that, there was no collation of the results of the parliamentary election for the Techiman South constituency and no declaration of the results could be made on the 8th December 2020.

“That on the evening of 9th December 2020 when the Chairperson of the 2nd Responded publicly declared Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the winner of the presidential election in Ghana, she confirmed that the results of the elections at the Techiman South Constituency had by then still not been collated.”

“That up to date of the filling of the instant election petition, neither the Petitioner not any of his representatives has been invited by the 2nd Respondent or its agents for collation of the parliamentary results of the Techiman South constituency.”

Now Position

Interestingly, the same Christopher Beyere Baasongti is now seeking to amend his suit before the court so he changes it to say there was indeed collation done by the EC but it was not properly done and it has inaccuracies.

This was after the Court ordered the EC to present the original documents on the Techiman South parliamentary election, including the collated sheets and results to the Court.

The EC accordingly presented the said documents including the collation sheets to the curt. The documents were inspected by the parties including the NDC candidate, Christopher Beyere Baasongti.

The documents presented by the EC clearly indicated that there was collation of the results of the constituency and Mr. Adjei-Mensah Korsah was validly elected.

The NDC candidate then suddenly changed his stance and said he wanted the court to grant him the opportunity to amend his suit.

The court rejected the request by the NDC candidate Christopher Beyere Baasongti to amend his position from saying there was no collation to there was collation how it was not properly done.

Christopher Beyere Baasongti has therefore gone to the Appeals court seeking a review of the High Court’s ruling that he cannot amend his suit at this stage of the trial.

The NDC’s ground of appeal is that “the judge of the trial High Court erred in law when he ruled that there was no need for an amendment of the Petitioner/Applicant’s reliefs before he could grant relief not prayed for in the parliamentary election petition.

They argue that the High Court judge “erred when he dismissed the Petitioner/Applicant’s motion for leave to amend the Petitioner/Applicant’s Parliamentary selection petition to include reliefs under Section 19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1992 (PNDCL 284).

They’re are therefore, seeking to reverse the ruling of the High Court and “an order be made granting leave to the Petitioner/Applicant to amend his Parliamentary election petition to include the reliefs outlined in the petitioner’s motion for leave to amend his parliamentary election petition to include reliefs under Section 19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1992 (PNDCL 284).