EC receives order to unseat MP

Court issues Bench warrant for Electoral Commission member

Cape Coast (Central Region) 13 Dec. '99

The Electoral Commission (EC) on Friday said it has received a court order to unseat a New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament, Mr Isaac Edumadze for being wrongly declared the winner of the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam seat in 1996.

Mr Kwame Safo Kantanka, a Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of administration, said "but we have also been served with court documents indicating that Mr Edumadze has filed an appeal".

He said the EC would, therefore, seek legal advice from its lawyers on what to do in the face of the developments.

The order resulted from a petition filed by Dr Joseph Kweku Enos, the NDC candidate against the EC and Mr Edumadze, challenging the results of the parliamentary elections for the area.

Dr Enos claimed that there was a miscalculation in the votes and that the number of votes he won had been under declared.

In its judgement, a Cape Coast High Court after over two years of investigation and sitting, confirmed "a miscalculation had resulted in the NPP candidate, Mr Adumadze, being declared the winner with 15,660 votes instead of the petitioner, Dr Enos, who had in fact secured 16,292 votes".

The judgement noted that the resultant figure proved conclusively that the votes of the petitioner, Dr Enos, were under declared by 1,453 votes.

The High Court, therefore, directed the EC to effect the removal of Mr Edumadze from Parliament.

A certified court order, issued on November 19, and signed by Mr H. S. Abaidoo, Deputy Chief Registrar of the court, said Mr Edumadze is to be replaced by Dr Enos.

The court ordered the EC "to within 21 days of receipt of the certification make the necessary arrangements and publication to enable the petitioner to take his rightful place in Parliament."

According to the judgement, the mistake evolved when the EC returning officer for the area, Mr Yirenkyi handed over the vote counting duty to his assistant for health reasons.

It said Mr Yirenkyi testified that when he later took over from his assistant, he detected the miscalculation in the votes but he was advised by the Electoral Commissioner, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, to "remit the uncorrected declaration to Accra for formal gazetting and publication in the national newspapers".

If Mr Edumadze were replaced, the NPP would be left with 60 seats.

GRi../

Accra (Greater Accra) 11^th December 99

An Accra High Court, on Friday issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Professor Ernest Dumor, a member of the Electoral Commission (EC), who has been cited in a contempt case.

The order followed his failure to attend court on Friday, which has been fixed for ruling in the case in which he and eight others are being held for contempt.

A motion for contempt of court was filed in February, this year, by Mr. Thomas Nuako Ward-Brew, an Accra legal practitioner against them for supervising regional and national congresses of the Democratic People's Party (DPP) in January, 1997.

This was at a time a suit for an interim injunction against the party from holding the congress was pending before the court.

The eight others are, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Djan, Electoral Commissioner, Mr. David Kangah, Deputy Chairman, (operations), Mr. K. Safo Kantanka, Deputy Chairman, Madam Theresa Cole, Miss Elizabeth Solomon, all members of the EC, Mr. K. Arhin, Director of Operations of the E. C. and Mr Daniel Markin, Chairman of the DPP.

When the case was called, the court was informed that Mr. Afari-Djan and Mr. Kangah have travelled on official duties while Madam Cole was indisposed. The others were present.

No date has been fixed for the next hearing.

Mr. Ward-Brew, who claims to be the Chairman of the DPP, filed two suits against Mr. Markin asking the court to restrain him from holding the party's congress.

Notwithstanding the suits and even though Mr. Markin was aware of the legal actions, he allegedly ignored them and organised and held the congress.

The plaintiffs averred that he wrote a "formal letter" to the E. C. about the impending suits but the Commission and its members supervised the congress.

Mr. Ward-Brew said since the acts complained of were committed during the pendency of legal proceedings against Mr. Markin, he sought leave from the court, which was granted, to urge the court to commit the respondents for contempt.

GRi