South Dayi MP Challenges High Court Ruling on Tema Central Collation

The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson Etse Dafeamekpor, has voiced strong opposition to an Accra High Court ruling directing the Electoral Commission (EC) to finalize the collation of results for the Tema Central constituency.

The court, presided over by Justice Forson Agyapong, on Saturday, December 4, 2024, granted a mandamus application filed by New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidates. This ruling requires the EC to collate results from all polling stations, including two outstanding ones, and finalize results for Tema Central, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, and Techiman South by January 6, 2025.

Justice Agyapong annulled the previously declared results for Tema Central, which had favored the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Ebi Bright. He emphasized the necessity of collating results from all 148 polling stations before any valid declaration could be made.

Dafeamekpor’s Concerns

Addressing the media after the ruling, Dafeamekpor, who is also Ebi Bright’s legal representative, raised concerns over the credibility of pink sheets from the two outstanding polling stations.

> “We opposed those two pink sheets on grounds that they were fabricated after the close of polls on December 7 at 5 pm. The presiding officers admitted that, being tired, they took the pink sheets to the EC office, where they were instructed by their Metro Director to complete them.”



The MP highlighted discrepancies in the documents, stating:

> “The duplicates we have do not include critical details like the presiding officer’s name, signature, the year of the election, the time polls closed, or the date of the election—requirements under Regulation 43 of C.I. 127 and Regulation 39(23) of C.I. 127.”



Objections to Collation

Dafeamekpor argued that relying on the disputed pink sheets to finalize results compromises the credibility of the collation process. He maintained that the evidence suggests irregularities and fabrication, which could undermine the integrity of the parliamentary election in Tema Central.

The ruling has sparked significant debate over the legal and procedural issues surrounding the collation of results in disputed constituencies.