SALL petitioners appeal Ho Court's dismissal of election challenge against John Amewu
1st August 2024
The Santrofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL) election petitioners have filed an appeal against the Ho High Court’s decision to dismiss their case challenging the validity of John Peter Amewu's election as Member of Parliament for Hohoe.
This comes after the High Court dismissed their petition on July 29, 2024, citing lack of jurisdiction.
Approximately 17,000 voters from the SALL enclave, which includes 13 communities, did not participate in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
In response, five SALL residents petitioned the High Court in Ho to annul the parliamentary election results that led to Amewu's election.
The court, however, ruled that the petitioners' request effectively questioned the constitutionality of CI 128, the regulation used by the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct the 2020 elections.
Unhappy with the High Court’s decision, the petitioners have now taken their case to the Court of Appeal.
“The trial judge egregiously erred in dismissing the petition on the ground that the High Court did not have jurisdiction,” citinewroom.com quoted the petitioners as having said.
They further argued that “The trial judge erred in failing to appreciate that on a proper interpretation of CI 112, the SALL traditional areas did not become part of the Oti region but remain part of the Hohoe Municipality as well as the Hohoe Constituency, matters which did not require constitutional interpretation."
The petitioners also accused the Electoral Commission of committing several statutory breaches, which they claim rendered Peter Amewu's election invalid under the Representation of the People Law 1992 (PNDCL 284) Section 20(1)(b).
“There were multiple statutory breaches on the part of the Electoral Commission,” they asserted, the report added.
The appeal seeks to overturn the High Court’s judgment delivered on July 29 and includes a request for “a declaration that the election of the 2nd respondent as MP for the Hohoe constituency following the December 2020 parliamentary election is null and void.”
The petitioners maintain that their lawsuit raises significant issues that deserve thorough judicial consideration.