An Accra High Court has directed the Electoral Commission (EC) to finalize the collation of votes in four constituencies—Tema Central, Ablekuma North, Okaikwei Central, and Techiman South—by January 6, 2025. The Inspector General of Police has also been instructed to ensure sufficient armed security during this exercise.
These orders come after the court approved mandamus applications submitted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidates in the named constituencies. Justice Forson Agyapong, in issuing the ruling, pointed to the legal framework for mandamus applications, emphasizing that the EC must carry out its public duty of complete vote collation.
In the case of Tema Central, Justice Agyapong observed that two polling stations remained uncollated, rendering any declaration by persons other than the returning officer invalid. Meanwhile, for Ablekuma North, the court criticized the EC for declaring results based on just 219 out of 281 polling stations, leaving 62 polling station results yet to be collated. A similar shortfall was noted in Okaikwei Central, where only 110 out of 141 stations were collated before results were announced.
Justice Agyapong further clarified that, for a mandamus application to succeed, the applicant must show at least one of the following: lack or excess of jurisdiction, an error of law, non-adherence to the rules of natural justice, or the breach of Wednesbury principles. Additionally, the applicant must prove a public duty existed, a formal request for that duty was made, and that there was significant prejudice resulting from failure to fulfill the duty.
