The High Court has dismissed an application filed by Nana Akua Afriyie, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Ablekuma North in the 2024 elections, seeking to stop the Electoral Commission (EC) from conducting a rerun of parliamentary elections in 19 polling stations within the constituency.
Justice Ali Baba Abature, who presided over the case, ruled that the motion for an interim injunction was “unmeritorious,” emphasizing that the balance of convenience favored the EC’s constitutional obligation to ensure parliamentary representation for the people of Ablekuma North.
Afriyie’s legal team argued that the EC’s decision to organize a rerun directly contradicted a High Court judgment delivered on January 4, 2025. That ruling had ordered the Commission to complete the collation of results from 62 polling stations and declare a winner from the December 7, 2024, election.
Representing the NPP, lawyer Gary Nimako contended that the EC had publicly acknowledged—through a press release on January 27 and a parliamentary briefing by Deputy EC Chair Dr. Bossman Asare—that only three polling station results were outstanding. He said the EC’s decision to rerun 19 polling stations was unjustified, unlawful, and in violation of court orders.
Nimako further argued that all polling station results (or “pink sheets”) had been duly signed and certified by party agents and presiding officers, rendering a rerun unnecessary. He cited Regulation 42 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I. 127), which permits a rerun only in the event of a tie—a scenario the EC had not alleged.
He also accused the EC of acting in contempt of court, stating that if the Commission had encountered challenges in implementing the January ruling, it should have returned to court for further directions rather than taking unilateral action.
The EC was not present in court as the motion was filed ex parte. However, Justice Abature questioned whether the applicant had proven that the results could be lawfully declared without further verification—something the court found was not adequately demonstrated under C.I. 127.
In his judgment, Justice Abature reaffirmed the EC’s constitutional mandate and warned against actions that could obstruct the electoral process.
“After a careful and painstaking reading of the applicant’s motion paper, affidavit in support, statement of case as filed, as well as the supplementary affidavit… the application for injunction against the respondent is dismissed as unmeritorious,” he ruled.
The judge added that if Afriyie ultimately succeeds in her substantive legal challenge, the EC, as a state institution, would be capable of compensating her with damages.
The EC is scheduled to conduct the rerun on Friday, July 11, 2025, amid ongoing political tension and scrutiny over the integrity of Ghana’s electoral processes.
