The Nsawam-Adoagyiri election petition has taken a fresh turn, as the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has declared its intention to appeal a recent court ruling that dismissed its challenge against the election of Hon. Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Member of Parliament for the area.
The party’s Deputy Director of Elections, Dr. Rashid Tanko-Computer, has strongly rejected the ruling, describing it as unfounded.
According to him, the NDC’s legal team will not allow the decision to stand, stressing that the party will exhaust every available legal avenue to contest what it deems to be an electoral injustice.
“What was the basis of the dismissal? That is the question. That is what we are going to appeal against. Because it is completely baseless.”
Dr. Rashid Tanko-Computer
The ruling, which dismissed the NDC’s petition seeking to challenge the legitimacy of Annoh-Dompreh’s election, has been met with fierce opposition from party officials, who claim irregularities tainted the results from some polling stations.
“You can’t say that we have no key cases in the matter. What was our issue? Our issue is that we have filed an application [against] the declaration of Annoh-Dompreh as a winner. It’s an election petition.”
Dr. Rashid Tanko-Computer
Tanko-Computer further maintained that the NDC has credible reasons to believe the election was flawed.
Central to the party’s case is the claim that fake pink sheets were used to declare the results in favor of Annoh-Dompreh—a claim that, if proven, could raise serious concerns about the integrity of the Electoral Commission’s processes.
“Because some of the pink sheets they used to declare Annoh-Dompreh were fake pink sheets. They were manufactured by the NPP in collaboration with the Electoral Commission.”.
Dr. Rashid Tanko-Computer
He also referred to specific instances where the NDC confronted the electoral process on the ground. One such incident, he said, occurred at the Tesano Police Station during collation. “That was why I was fighting them over there,” he recounted.
He also accused the Electoral Commission of failing to authenticate the controversial pink sheets with the relevant presiding officers. “When the presiding officer came there with the regional Electoral Commissioner, we had issues with them.”
‘Fake Pink Sheets’ Undermine Credibility
Furthermore, Tanko-Computer dismissed the pink sheets in question as fraudulent reproductions linked to the NPP and accused the Electoral Commission of complicity for allegedly failing to produce the original documents.
He claimed that the submitted sheets were merely photocopies rather than authentic versions.
“Who used the photocopied pink sheets to declare the results? And the EC did not have their copies? They didn’t have. So you had a different set of pink sheets for some of the polling stations, and NPP also had a different set? They had different ones.”
Rashid Tanko-Computer
Tanko-Computer argued that the situation is part of a broader trend, accusing the NPP of engaging in similar electoral misconduct in other constituencies, including Ablekuma North.
He pointed to that case as an example of what the party has consistently highlighted.
Despite a ruling being delivered in the Nsawam-Adoagyiri case, the NDC maintains that the legal battle is not over. Their legal team is currently awaiting the certified ruling to initiate an appeal.
He also noted that the Ablekuma North constituency remains unresolved, with the Electoral Commission yet to declare a winner. The NDC, he said, has taken the issue to the Supreme Court for further action.
“The last time we went, the Electoral Commission filed an application, and they wanted to dismiss it. They wanted to use the same process. But we strongly rejected that kind of move that they were going to do. Thankfully, the Supreme Court gave us a window of seven days to respond to it.”
Dr. Rashid Tanko-Computer
Despite the legal hurdles ahead, the NDC remains firm in its position. The party has vowed not to accept any individual it deems unlawfully elected to represent Nsawam-Adoagyiri or any other constituency where it suspects electoral irregularities.
Tanko-Computer emphasized that the party will present its arguments in court, determined to challenge any outcome it considers illegitimate.
While it remains uncertain how the courts will respond to the NDC’s claims, one thing is clear: the dispute over the Nsawam-Adoagyiri seat, along with the larger concerns surrounding electoral transparency, is far from over.
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