The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is heading to court to place an interlocutory injunction on the results of the Tamale central Parliamentary election.<\/p>\n
The results are in contention following the NPP\u2019s discovery of over voting and unknown polling station results recorded at the end of the poll on December 7.<\/p>\n
The Parliamentary candidate, Dr. Barhama Ibrahim Imoro Anyass refused to sign the Electoral Commission\u2019s statement of polls and called for nullification of the said over voting results and that of the unknown polling stations.<\/p>\n
Citifmonline.com is reliably informed that Lawyer Akoto Ampau, Lawyer Kofi Bentil and Lawyer Hassan Tampuli constitute the legal team.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Hassan Tampuli was spotted in Tamale on Tuesday to facilitate the legal tussle.<\/p>\n
Below is the petition.<\/p>\n
12 December, 2016
\nThe Returning Officer<\/p>\n
Tamale Central Constituency<\/p>\n
2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections<\/p>\n
Dear Mr Anabila Godwin Atinga,<\/p>\n
DETERMINATION OF THE UNRESOLVED MATTERS OF THE TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION RESULTS IN THE<\/p>\n
DECEMBER 7, 2016 ELECTION
\nI write to you as the Parliamentary Candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the 2016 Parliamentary Election, held on 7th December, 2016. This letter is to seek further clarification and information from you, as collation and declaration of the parliamentary results remain in limbo.<\/p>\n
The following are cardinal among the litany of irregularities at the Tamale Central Constituency polls on the 7th December 2016.<\/p>\n
1. Inaccuracies with the collated parliamentary results: while insisting that results that were disputed were not adding to the tally of results; your IT assistants continually discretely added them to produce a summary sheet of results. Your denial that you did not authorise them did not stop you from producing same summary sheet as the validated results of the election. Among these were the reported over-voting cases at twelve (12) polling stations. Equally, while not defined in law, you agreed with the detected pattern where under-voting occurred (voters not given parliamentary ballots creating discrepancies with tallied presidential results). While separating the two results \u2013 Presidential and Parliamentary \u2013 EC officials still alluded to one BVD thus requiring some unanimity of the ballots, upon verification.<\/p>\n
2. Inaccurate Register of Voters: while raising valid complaints that were not heeded on over-voting and under-voting; these arose from the compiled register of voters for Tamale Central Constituency. I have detected inaccuracies in the Register of Voters presented to the NPP and the register that the EC produced at polling stations in the constituency. EC registers contain names far in excess of the totals that was originally handed to the party for the elections on 7th December 2016. For example \u2013<\/p>\n
3. Unknown Polling Stations: Ahead of the elections, as stated in CI.94 the NPP received names and codes of designated polling stations for all 136 polling stations in the Tamale Central Constituency. For the special voting an extra designated polling station at the Regional Police Headquarters in Tamale (now 137 polling stations). Conspicuously non-existent were the two polling stations at Mallam Fari\u2019s Mosque (A & B) with polling station codes H193804A and H193804B.<\/p>\n
I personally enquired from the Returning Officer and the Metro Director where to locate these polling stations with my agents, without success. At the collation centre however, results arrived with Presiding Officers from the two polling stations. In spite of my loud and legal protestations that the vote should not be added to the tally, the RO on intimidation by the NDC Regional Chairman and his Metro Director caved in to their pressure \u2013 collating invalid results.<\/p>\n
4. Over-voting at twelve polling stations: At counting upon the close of polls, complaints of over-votes initiated at polling stations remained unresolved at the collation centre. Every single instance of the twelve (12) polling stations that over-voting occurred was reported in my presence with the RO at the collation centre. The RO in all such cases stated that the PO and the agents be brought to the collation centre for resolution. However, to date not a single recount has been granted to verify the claims or otherwise of over-voting. We still demand recount of the ballots from these 12 polling stations below, as stipulated in the CI.94.
\ni. Manhaliya (H192702A)<\/p>\n
ii. A.f.d.o.m (H193602)<\/p>\n
iii. Fathul Islam Primary A (H192504A)<\/p>\n
iv. Fathul Islam Primary B (H192504B)<\/p>\n
v. Catholic Social Centre (H192608B)<\/p>\n
vi. Church of Pentecost (H194101A)<\/p>\n
vii. Church of Pentecost (H194101B)<\/p>\n
viii. Tuffuor Hotel (H192802)<\/p>\n
ix. ECG Centre B (H193503B)<\/p>\n
x. Behind Imam\u2019s House Mohiyabihi (H193901A)<\/p>\n
xi. Zogbeli Primary C (H193003C)<\/p>\n
xii. Presby Primary B (H193502)<\/p>\n
5. Destroyed ballot boxes: two recorded instances of destroyed ballot boxes. While the Metro Director of EC insisted that it did not matter that ballot boxes were destroyed \u2013 citing precedents at Wulensi, Tolon and elsewhere \u2013 that results remained valid with the produced pink sheets (collation sheets). It was not long however before we realised that the destroyed ballot boxes concealed the over-voting at Manhaliya Polling Station (H19).<\/p>\n
6. Intimidation by NDC and EC Officials at Collation Centre: The Collation Centre got invaded twice by the NDC Regional Chairman, Alhaji Sofo Azorka, with other NDC macho men and vigilantes. Chaotic scenes with threats of beaten up officers and members of my team. In none of those instances did the RO raise an alarm or request for indoor protection. These were aimed at hastening and reaching a rushed \u2013 even if invalid \u2013 results. Such violations eventually affected the mood of the RO and his team and their attitude was one of acquiescence to the dictates of the NDC and their candidate, disregarding every single suggestion and complaint coming from my end, as a Candidate in this election.<\/p>\n
7. Refusal to comply with CI. 94: To the extent that CI.94 is what regulate the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections; it is beyond doubt that the RO for the Tamale Central Constituency for the December 7, 2016 elections stood in complete violation of every single instance cited above.<\/p>\n
a. Valid Results: Collation is aimed at valid results<\/p>\n
b. Unknown Polling Stations: Criminal and Illegal<\/p>\n
c. Over-voting: Denial of legitimate right to recount<\/p>\n
d. Concealed evidence of over-voting by destroying ballot boxes<\/p>\n
e. Interference by the EC Metro Director in the process at Collation<\/p>\n
f. Invalid register containing names in excess of register given to the NPP for the vote<\/p>\n
In the light of the above and in due regard to the gravity of these violations, I cannot imagine what resolution would redress these other than a re-run of the parliamentary elections in the Tamale Central Constituency. We, as a party, are unable to accept the collated results for the parliamentary elections that have been gathered so far due to the improprieties that have been cited.<\/p>\n
This matter now deserves your urgent and resolute attention. Any further delays compounds the violations and heighten needless tensions within the constituency. I await your expeditious response to these issues.<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n
Ibrahim Anyars Imoro<\/p>\n
2016 NPP Parliamentary Candidate<\/p>\n
Tamale Central Constituency<\/p>\n
Cc: The Metro EC Director<\/p>\n
The Regional EC Director<\/p>\n
The Chair, EC Accra<\/p>\n
The Regional Police Commander<\/p>\n
The Northern Regional Chairman of NPP<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is heading to court to place an interlocutory injunction on the results of the Tamale central Parliamentary election. The results are in contention following the NPP\u2019s discovery of over voting and unknown polling station results recorded at the end of the poll on December 7. The Parliamentary candidate, Dr. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":256491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[58,11],"tags":[3,56,12931],"yoast_head":"\n