COLLINS DAUDA WINS ASUTIFI SOUT SEAT (PAGE 3)

THE electoral stand-off in the Asutifi South Constituency parliamentary election was finally put to rest on Good Friday when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Alhaji Collins Dauda, was declared winner by the slimmest of margins.
With the re-collation of the results by the Brong Ahafo Regional office of the Electoral Commission (EC), Alhaji Dauda won by 14 votes.
He polled 10,984 votes, against 10,970 votes by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Mr Yiadom Boakye-Boateng, and 78 votes by Mr George Okyere of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP).
Alhaji Dauda, who was the sitting Member of Parliamentary (MP) and currently the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has, therefore, been declared the winner of the December 7, 2008 parliamentary election by the EC.
The re-collation of the results followed a unanimous Supreme Court ruling last Wednesday that the Sunyani High Court, presided over by Mr Justice Francis Opoku, had no jurisdiction to hear an electoral petition filed by Mr Boakye-Boateng at the court in connection with the Asutifi South Constituency parliamentary election.
As early as 7 a.m. a sizeable number of supporters of the NDC from the Asutifi Constituency had gathered at the precincts of the EC office in Sunyani to witness the re-collation process, amidst singing, dancing and chanting.
There were a number of policemen, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Martin Dafeamekpor, to prevent any unlawful behaviour.
Representatives of the NDC, excluding Alhaji Dauda himself, and those of the NPP, including Mr Boakye-Boateng, participated in the process, which ended about 11.30 a.m. without any disturbance.
Supporters of the NPP were conspicuously absent.
Mr Boakye-Boateng filed the motion at the High Court on December 19, 2008, saying, “Please take notice that Messrs Asomah-Cheremeh and Co, counsel for and on behalf of the petitioner/applicant herein, will move this honourable court for an order restraining the EC and the Asutifi District Electoral Officer herein from declaring the parliamentary election held in the Asutifi South constituency on the seventh day of December, 2008 as upon the grounds set out in the accompanying affidavit and for such further order (s) as the honourable court may deem fit to make.”
Subsequent to the motion, Mr Boakye-Boateng observed that the parliamentary election in the Asutifi Constituency had been characterised by some corrupt practices and, therefore, prayed the court to investigate.
However, counsel for the respondents argued that the petition had not been properly brought before the court because the applicant did not wait for 21 days after the declaration, publication and gazetting of the parliamentary results as required by law before doing so.
They, therefore, described the petition as premature and further urged the court not to entertain the action by the applicant but dismiss it in its entirety, describing the amendment to the original motion as an after-thought which should also be struck out by the court.
On December 22, 2008, however, the court overruled the preliminary objection raised by the respondents and fixed January 19, 2009 for the actual commencement of the case, in agreement with counsel for the plaintiff and the respondents.
When the case was called on January 19, 2008, the court adjourned sine die (indefinitely), following a notice received by the presiding judge to the effect that the EC had filed an appeal against his earlier ruling in the case.
Later on January 30, 2009, Mr Justice Opoku upheld the petition filed by the NPP candidate, saying it had been properly laid before him and indicated that a critical scrutiny of Section 20 (1) of the Representation of the People’s Law, 1992, empowered the High Court to declare the election of a candidate void if it was satisfied that there had been non-compliance with any provision of the law and regulations made under the law.
However, the Supreme Court unanimously overruled the High Court’s decision, thereby paving the way for the re-collation and declaration of the results.