The High Court in Tamale has dismissed a parliamentary election case filed by the New Patriotic Party parliamentary candidate for the Savelugu seat, Mohammed Abdul Somed Gunu, against the Member of Parliament for the Savelugu constituency.
After the Electoral Commission recognized NDC's Abdul Jacob Iddrisu as the constituency's winner in the 2020 general election. The NPP parliamentary candidate filed a petition to challenge the election results.
The Petitioner stated that the election in which the MP was elected was marred by malpractices, irregularities, and overvoting, among other things, and so asked the court to overturn the results.
The Tamale High Court, chaired over by Justice Daniel Obeng, determined on Friday, January 20, 2023, that the claims stated by the petitioner were simply administrative mistakes that did not alter the outcome of the elections, and therefore the Electoral Commission's proclamation of the results was legal.
As a result, the court ordered the petitioner to pay GH40,000 to the elected Member of Parliament and GH20,000 to the Electoral Commission.
Speaking to Citi News, Mohammed Abdul Salam who is the representative of the 2nd respondent, Abdul Jacob Iddrisu stated "the court agreed that there were administrative irregularities which he maintains did not effect the outcome of the election. We are convinced that there was a criminal investigation. The NPP and its attorneys will seek another criminal case."
The NPP's Deputy General Secretary further stated that "this judgment has no bearing on Parliament."
In a similar incident, the court dismissed a case made by Zabzugu NDC 2020 parliamentary candidate Umar Alhassan against the constituency's elected Member of Parliament, John Bennam Jabaah, after he was proclaimed the victor of the 2020 parliamentary elections.