Dec. 7 elections: Afenyo-Markin sued
James Kofi Annan, the 2024 National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Effutu in the Central region, and Louisa Buabeng, an independent candidate, have filed a petition with the Winneba High Court, seeking to annul the results of the 2024 parliamentary election.
They cite alleged irregularities and bias by the Electoral Commission (EC) as the main reasons for their defeat in the recently held parliamentary elections.
Both candidates lost to Alexander Afenyo-Markin of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) but are contesting the legitimacy of the results, claiming the election process was unfair.
Annan, the first petitioner, is asking the court to invalidate the results from 96 polling stations, alleging that the signatures on the pink sheets were not those of his designated polling agents.
The second petitioner, Buabeng, is seeking to have the entire election results annulled, claiming the Electoral Commission denied her access to essential election-related information.
Jennifred Maurice Adjei, the legal representative for the petitioners, described the difficulties encountered in serving the court papers, alleging interference from court officials.
“In court today, we were supposed to file a motion for an interlocutory injunction against Mr. Alexander Afenyo-Markin. The process was filed on January 6, but we faced challenges with service. The registrar initially assigned a bailiff, but later called him back and instructed him to return the papers, threatening punishment. Fearing the consequences, the bailiff complied, causing delays in the service,” Adjei explained.
Concerns about the EC’s actions
Adjei also pointed out that the Electoral Commission had not been properly served due to its offices being closed during the holiday period.
“The Electoral Commission, as an institution, should have been the easiest to serve, but the bailiff was unable to complete the process. He insisted on serving at the Accra headquarters instead of the Winneba district office, leading to further delays. Despite paying the bailiff to complete the task, no service was made,” Adjei added.
Due to the challenges in serving the necessary documents, Adjei has called for the case to be moved to another High Court outside Winneba, alleging manipulation of the process by the registrar.
