Three members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Amasaman Constituency of the Greater Accra Region have sued some executives of the party to demand the cancellation of the parliamentary primary held in the constituency in 2019.
The plaintiffs argued that the seven defendants, which include some constituency and national executives, are in contempt of court because, as of the time of organising the primary, a parliamentary candidate hopeful, Rockson Adu Boahen, had secured an interlocutory injunction against the poll.
One Akwasi Afrifa Mensah eventually emerged as the NPP’s parliamentary candidate for Amasaman after the poll.
They however want the court to declare the primary as null and void and order for a fresh election in the constituency.
The plaintiffs; Isaac Owusu-Ansah, Mohammed Gumah and Louis Boakye, argued in their writ that, “holding of the parliamentary elections at the time the Rockson Adu Boahene’s suit and the interlocutory injunction application were pending rendered the election illegality and the declared result null and void.”
Joined to the suit is the Electoral Commission and Akwasi Afrifa Mensah.
The other defendants are Divine Agorhome, the NPP Greater Accra Regional Chairman, Evans Nimako, the NPP Director of Elections and Micheal Ofori Asante, the NPP Amasaman Constituency Chairman.
The rest are Samuel Acquah-Young, the NPP Amasaman Constituency Secretary and Nii Oobodai Sai, the chairman of the NPP Elections Committee, Amasaman Constituency.
Background
One of the aspirants within the Amasaman constituency, Rockson Adu Boahen, secured an interlocutory injunction to stop the exercise after he was disqualified from the contest.
While voting was ongoing to elect parliamentary candidates for orphan constituencies of the governing NPP ahead of the 2020 polls, on September 28, 2019, there was confusion at the voting centre in Amasaman following the injunction on the process.
The Chairman of the NPP at the Amasaman Constituency, Michael Ofori Asante subsequently called off the primary but organised it on a different date.
The plaintiffs claim against the defendants jointly and severally the following:
a) A declaration that the election held by the defendants on 15th December 2019 without the final determination of the Rockson Adu Boahen’s suit is null and void.
b) A declaration that the results from the conducted election on 15th December 2019 by the defendants is null and void.
c) A declaration that the defendants are in contempt of this Honourable Court when they conducted the constituency parliamentary elections on 15th December 2019 while the Rockson Adu Boahene suit and interlocutory injunction application were still pending.
d) An order of Interlocutory injunction directed at the 7th defendant, restraining him from holding himself out as the parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Amasaman Constituency until the final determination of the present suit.
e) An order directed at the defendants compelling them to hold fresh elections to determine the Parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party for Amasaman constituency.
f) Costs including legal fees.
g) Any other order(s) this Honourable Court may deem fit.