Today, Monday, January 6, 2025, the High Court in Accra is scheduled to consider applications for a Stay of Execution pending appeal by four National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidates in the ongoing post-election disputes over results.


The four applicants, who are from Tema Central, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, and Techiman South, respectively, are Ebi Bright, Baba Sadiq, Awurabena Aubynn, and Christopher Beyere. They all want the orders to be overturned.

The High Court's directives on Saturday, January 4, allowing the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile unrecorded polling station results, supplement those that have already been compiled, and announce the winners in all four constituencies by Monday, January 6, form the basis of the separate actions.

On Sunday, January 5, 2025, the winners were announced, and all of the court's orders—aside from Ablekuma North Constituency—were followed.

Following their successful completion of their individual Mandamus Applications, Charles Forson of Tema Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah of Okaikwei Central, and Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah of Techiman South have all been proclaimed the victors.

Each of the NDC candidates from Tema Central, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, and Techiman South—Ebi Bright, Baba Sadiq, Awurabena Aubynn, and Christopher Beyere—filed a notice of appeal on Saturday, January 4, 2025, expressing their displeasure with the court's rulings.

The Notice of Appeal filed on Saturday, January 4, 2025, stated, "PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Interested Parties|Appellants herein, being dissatisfied and aggrieved with the Rulings of the High (Court General Jurisdiction 2) Accra, Coram FORSON AGYAPONG BAAH J dated 1st & 4 January 2025, do hereby appeal against the said Ruling to the Court of Appeal on the grounds set out in paragraph 3 and will at the hearing of the APPEAL seek the reliefs set out in paragraph 4."In their individual notices of appeal, they are contesting all of the High Court's rulings from January 1 and 4, 2025.

The order from January 1, 2025, that they are contesting also relates to the Court dismissing their individual arguments contesting the Court's authority to hear the Mandamus.

They are each requesting a stay of execution in addition to their notices of appeal.

With the exception of Ablekuma North, which has been suspended, the attorneys for the Interested Parties (NDC PCs) are anticipated to file their individual applications for Stay of Execution awaiting appeal against the court's orders that have already been carried out.

Context

The Electoral Commission (EC) was directed by the Accra High Court on Saturday, January 4, 2025, to compile the results of the two Tema Central Constituency voting stations that are still pending and announce the winner by January 6, 2025, at the latest.

According to the evidence presented before the court, which was presided over by Justice Forson Baah Agyapong, only 146 of 148 voting places had their results compiled.


The Court held that in granting NPP Charles Forson's request for Mandamus, the EC must compile the results from the two polling places that are still pending, add them to the 146 that have already been compiled, and announce the winner by January 6, 2025, at the latest.

In order to guarantee that the EC fulfills its public role, the Court further mandated that the Inspector General of Police maintain sufficient security for all collation centers.


The Court directed the EC to compile the 31 unresolved polling station results for the Okaikwei Central Constituency, add them to the results that had already been compiled, and proclaim a winner for Okaikwei Central, where Patrick Yaw Boamah and Baba Sadiq of the National Democratic Congress ran.

In order to determine the winner between Martin ADJEI-Mensah Korsah of the NPP and Christopher Beyere of the NDC, the court ordered that the results from about 147 voting places be added to the results that had already been compiled for Techiman South.

According to the Court, the results of about 62 unresolved polling places will be tallied, and the victor will be announced. Nana Akua Afriyie of the NPP and Awurabena Aubynn of the NDC are competing at Ablekuma North.


In order for the Commission to fulfill its legal role, the Court further ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to ensure that all collation centers have sufficient protection.