SALL vs EC: Ho High Court dismisses Hohoe MP’s stay application

During the proceedings concerning an election petition related to the disenfranchisement of residents in Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lipke, and Lolobi (SALL) in the 2020 general elections, the High Court in Ho has rejected an application filed by John Peter Amewu, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hohoe.

Mr. Amewu’s lawyer presented an application seeking to suspend the court’s judgment and obtain leave to file a defense as the second respondent to the petition. The presiding judge, Justice Owoahene Acheampong, was set to deliver the ruling on December 21, 2023. However, the proceedings faced interruption from Mr. Amewu’s lawyer’s application.

Initially, the case was adjourned to January 9, 2024, to allow Mr. Amewu’s lawyer to present the motion. But in a subsequent turn of events, Counsel Tsatsu Tsikata, the lawyer for the petitioners, filed an application to withdraw the original motion filed for judgment based on admissions made by the Electoral Commission (EC).

In response, the court dismissed John Peter Amewu’s motion to stay the judgment and permitted Lawyer Tsikata to move his application to withdraw the motion. Counsel Tsatsu Tsikata explained that the EC’s lawyer, Sekyi Boampong, had been involved in an accident, and requested an adjournment to a more suitable date. Both parties, including the lawyers for the petitioners and Peter Amewu, urged the court to adjourn to allow the EC, the first respondent, to be present during the proceedings.

Initially, Justice Acheampong insisted on proceeding in the absence of the EC, but ultimately yielded and adjourned the hearing to January 19, 2024, to consider Lawyer Tsikata’s application.