Ablekuma North re-run: NPP’s injunction dismissed
The political stakes in Ablekuma North soared on Monday as the High Court threw out an application filed by the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2024 parliamentary candidate, Nana Akua Afriyie, seeking to halt a planned rerun of parliamentary elections in 19 polling stations. The rerun, scheduled for July 11, 2025, has become a flashpoint in an already protracted electoral dispute.
Presiding over the case, Justice Ali Baba Abature ruled that the application lacked merit and upheld the Electoral Commission’s (EC) authority to organize the rerun. He stated plainly that “the balance of convenience favours the EC’s constitutional duty to ensure representation for the people.”
A battle over electoral legitimacy
Afriyie’s legal challenge stemmed from a January 4, 2025, High Court directive that instructed the EC to complete the collation of results from 62 polling stations in Ablekuma North and declare a winner from the December 7, 2024, parliamentary election. According to the NPP’s legal team, led by seasoned lawyer Gary Nimako, the EC publicly acknowledged shortly thereafter that results from only three polling stations remained uncollated.
Pointing to a January 27 EC press release and a subsequent parliamentary briefing by Deputy EC Chair Dr. Bossman Asare, Nimako argued that a rerun in 19 polling stations defied both logic and legal precedent. “A rerun can only occur if there is a tie,” Nimako said, citing Regulation 42 of C.I. 127, the Public Elections Regulations of 2020. “That condition does not exist here.”
‘Pink sheets’ and certified results: The core of the dispute
Central to the NPP’s case was the claim that results from all polling stations—including the now-contested 19—had been certified by presiding officers and party agents on election day. “There was no ambiguity. These results were final and signed off,” argued Nimako, adding that any attempt to rerun polling stations under such circumstances was both “unjustified and unlawful.”
Afriyie’s legal team also took issue with the EC’s decision to proceed unilaterally without returning to court for clarification on the January ruling. They characterised the Commission’s action as contemptuous and outside the bounds of its mandate.
Court: Constitutional mandate overrides application
Justice Abature, however, did not find the arguments compelling enough to halt the electoral process. In a stern ruling, he highlighted that the applicant had not convincingly demonstrated that the EC could legally collate the results without additional verification by presiding officers, a critical requirement under C.I. 127.
He emphasized the overarching importance of representation in Parliament: “Any delay in allowing the rerun would deprive the people of Ablekuma North of their constitutional right to representation.”
The judge also noted that since the motion for injunction was filed ex parte—without the EC present—greater care was needed in granting such a disruptive order. Ultimately, he ruled the application “unmeritorious.”
Legal challenge still looms
Although the court did not grant the injunction, it left the door open for further legal contest. Justice Abature noted that if Afriyie were to succeed in her substantive case against the EC, the Commission—as a state institution—would be in a position to compensate her with damages.
Meanwhile, the EC is expected to go ahead with preparations for the rerun, which could be decisive in determining the parliamentary fate of the constituency.
Political fallout and what’s at stake
The decision is likely to fuel further political tension in Ablekuma North, a key swing constituency. With the NPP vehemently opposing the rerun and the EC determined to move forward, observers say the battle may now shift to the court of public opinion—and potentially back to the courtroom.
For now, all eyes will be on July 11, as voters in 19 polling stations return to the ballot box to settle a contest that has already tested the limits of Ghana’s electoral and judicial systems.
