Friday, January 02, 2009

Ghana News Bulletin: Fast Track Court Says No to Motion Aimed at Election Delay; NPP Supporters Attack Election Commission in Accra

Fast Track Court Says No To Motion

Ghana Daily Graphic

The Accra Fast Track High Court today refused to hear an ex-parte application for interim injunction filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its Chairman, Mr Peter Mac Manu, against the Electoral Commission (EC) and its chairman.

The court, instead, indicated that looking at the nature of the case and the exigencies, it was prudent for the interested parties, namely, Prof John Evans Atta Mills, Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the NDC to be served on notice with the pleadings to enable them to react appropriately.

The court also reminded the plaintiffs that the EC was only a referee between the NPP and the NDC and for that matter it was important that the NDC was served on notice to respond to the issue raised.

Consequently, Mr Justice Edward Amoako Asante adjourned the hearing to Monday, January 5, 2009 and asked the applicants to serve the interested parties by 10 a.m. today to enable them to respond by 4 p.m on Sunday.

The applicants were represented by Mr Atta Akyea and Mrs Irene Addo. On the other side were Mr Samuel Cudjoe, who described himself as a friend of the court, Mr Tony Lithur, Mr Bram Larbi and Mr Fui Tsikata, among a host of other lawyers.

But the parties to the suit were not in court and the writ was to restrain the EC from going ahead to declare the final results of the presidential election without a re-run of the Volta Region election results.

Story by Stephen Sah & Mabel Aku Baneseh


NPP Files Writ

Ghana Daily Graphic

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has filed a fresh application at the Fast Track High Court seeking an order to restrain the Electoral Commission (EC) from conducting today’s presidential run-off in the Tain Constituency.

The writ, which was filed on notice, is also seeking an order of interlocutory injunction to restrain the EC from declaring the winner of the 2008 presidential election without a re-run of the election in the Volta Region.

It was filed at 2.46 p.m. by Zoe, Akyea & Co on behalf of the NPP and its Chairman, Peter Mac Manu, against the EC and its Chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan.

Those affected by the writ are Prof John Evans Atta Mills and the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The motion will be moved on Monday, January 5, 2009.

Story: Stephen Sah & Mabel Aku Baneseh


Ghana party to boycott key vote

With almost all votes cast, the ruling NPP narrowly trails the opposition NDC

Ghana's ruling party is set to boycott voting in a remote district that could decide the outcome of the knife-edge presidential run-off election.

The ruling New Patriotic Front (NPP) has been seeking an injunction to delay Friday's voting in Tain constituency.

NPP officials said the atmosphere in the rural, western district was not conducive to a free and fair election.

Tain constituency did not vote with the rest of the country last Sunday because of a problem distributing ballots.

Opposition candidate John Atta Mills has a narrow lead over the ruling party's Nana Akufo-Addo.

"We are trying to stop the election because we think the security situation on the ground is not conducive for a free and fair election," NPP spokesman Arthur Kennedy told AFP news agency.

Soldiers and police have been deployed across the district - the last of Ghana's 230 constituencies to vote.

The BBC's Will Ross, in Ghana's capital Accra, says Mr Akufo-Addo can not realistically win enough support among Tain's 53,000 eligible voters to overturn the lead held by Mr Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Mr Atta Mills won the area in the first round of voting on 7 December and NDC is confident of victory.

He has 50.13% of the approximately nine million votes already cast compared with 49.87% for Mr Akufo-Addo, election officials have said.

Just over 23,000 votes separate the two candidates.

Officials from the NPP have been meeting and observers of the election suggest the party is now split on whether Mr Akufo-Addo should accept defeat, says our correspondent.

Both sides have claimed voting irregularities in other districts and the election commission said it would investigate them before announcing the result.

The two men are vying to replace President John Kufour, who is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms in office.

Ghana is one of Africa's most stable democracies, with peaceful handovers of power.

But the close race, fraud allegations and the increased stakes with the discovery of oil off the coast have raised fears of possible violence.


Violent protest over Ghana poll results

Thursday, January 1

ACCRA (AFP) - - Ghanaian police fired water cannon late Wednesday on ruling party supporters who besieged the country's electoral commission in protest at presidential election results, witnesses and local media said.

Dozens of angry protesters wielding machetes and sticks attacked passing vehicles and local journalists after partial results from the run-off vote gave the opposition candidate a lead.

Completed official results for 229 of the 230 constituencies have shown opposition leader John Atta-Mills maintaining a slim lead over governing party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo.

The demonstrators only dispersed after the regional minister for greater Accra addressed the crowd and assured them of victory after the decisive vote in a remote constituency which has emerged as decisive.

Voters in Tain, a western constituency of just over 50,000 eligible voters, will cast their run-off ballots on Friday.

They failed to vote Sunday because of problems in the distribution of ballot papers -- and because the official results so far are too close to call, the result there could effectively decide who runs Ghana for the next four years.

The protest lasted roughly two hours, according to security sources at the scene.

An AFP reporter saw broken glass and other debris in the aftermath of the demonstration. Electoral commission officials at the scene refused to comment.

Meantime, the NPP has officially lodged its complaint to the electoral commission over alleged electoral irregularities in the opposition stronghold of the Volta region.

Senior NPP officials led by campaign director Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, were seen entering the EC offices to hand over the petition early evening on Wednesday.


Rawlings Urges NPP Leaders to Act

Posted by VIBE GHANA at 31 Dec 2008 and is filed under General News

The attention of former President Rawlings has been drawn to a series of actions initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with the tacit support of the ruling government and the security agencies which if not checked will lead Ghana into complete anarchy.

It has become very obvious now that the NPP’s quest for an election in Tain, vain as it is, was but a diversionary tactic to place a six-month injunction on the whole process that commenced on December 7 and is expected to conclude on January 2.

Reliable information obtained by the former President indicate that the Akufo-Addo campaign group having failed to win the election after heavily doctoring results in several constituencies in the Ashanti Region is sowing seeds of confusion to justify a court injunction.

NDC supporters across the country, but particularly in the Ashanti Region are being provoked to react violently and the blame passed onto leaders of the party such as the former President.

Presently in Kumasi what started as a demonstration by NPP supporters led by the notorious Appiah Stadium and other armed thugs against their leaders, for a perceived poor handling of the election has deteriorated into direct acts of vandalism and violence against NDC operatives following representations made to them by the Regional Minister Owusu Ansah.

Two journalists from Metro TV, Messrs Abdul Basid and Jeff Nsiah Boadu are currently undergoing treatment at the Komfo Anokye hospital.

The former President is directly challenging the NPP, particularly Nana Akufo Addo and outgoing President Kufuor to directly intervene and stop what is potential madness before it escalates.

NDC supporters and indeed all Ghanaians are being cautioned to exercise a great deal of restraint, but let no one be confused. Any acts of violence that occur and are taking place are the direct machinations of the desperate NPP government who believe they are the sole controllers of this country and are unwilling to hand over power when it is clear they have lost.

The NDC in spite of the clear fraud which saw increases of over 30,000 in some Ashanti constituency results between December 7 and 28 has been very sportsmanlike and agreed in the interest of peace to accept that the Tain vote take place.

If the NPP having recognised the helplessness of the situation cannot accept defeat and rather chooses to drag this matter in the law courts coupled with instigation of violence then they will fall on their own swords.

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