‘There was no need for the EC to rush into re-collating results’ – Inusah Fuseini
Former Tamale Central MP and legal practitioner, Inusah Fuseini, has criticised the Electoral Commission (EC) for rushing to re-collate results from disputed constituencies without adhering to laid-down legal procedures.
Speaking on Joy News’ Newsfile on Monday, December 28, he expressed his disapproval of the EC’s handling of the situation, describing it as unnecessary and avoidable.
“The Electoral Commission has led us into a situation where we are now struggling as a country to extricate ourselves,” Fuseini stated.
His comments come after the Supreme Court quashed results in the re-collation of votes Tema Central, Ablekuma North, Techiman South, and Okaikwei Central in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
The apex court added that the order does not affect Ahafo Ano North and Nsawam Adoagyiri results.
According to the court, the trial judge violated the right to a hearing of the NDC Parliamentary Candidates when they applied to the High Court.
He argued that CI 127, which governs electoral disputes, outlines clear steps for resolving such issues and that the EC should have followed these procedures.
“There ought not to have been any rush at all into re-collating the results of the disputed constituencies because the law—the CI, which is a CI of the Electoral Commission—clearly details steps that an aggrieved candidate in an election must take and how his rights accrue. That is after the results of the election in that particular constituency have been gazetted,” he explained.
Mr Fuseini suggested that the legal remedies available under CI 127 would have been sufficient to address any grievances without the current “hullabaloo” involving a mandamus compelling the EC to act.
“All this hullabaloo about mandamus compelling the Electoral Commission to perform a duty that is imposed on it by law—could it not have been resolved if we had simply waited?
“I mean, if the results were gazetted and the aggrieved party took the matter to court, which of these issues could not have been resolved?” Fuseini questioned.
He lamented that the EC’s decision to rush has plunged the country into what he termed a “constitutional crisis,” creating unnecessary tension and uncertainty.
“We have been put into a constitutional crisis today because the EC appears to be the interested party in this case,” Mr Fuseini added.