[ad_1]
The Supreme Court will meet on Monday, January 4, 2020 to hear a request challenging a decision by the Ho High Court to issue an injunction on the official publication of Hohoe’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP-elect, John Peter Amewu .
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, chaired by Judge Yaw Appau, set the date today (Wednesday, December 30) after granting a time reduction request submitted by the Attorney General (AG).
According to the directives issued by the court, the interested parties must present their case brief tomorrow (December 31) before 12 noon, while the Attorney General, if he wants to respond, must do so before the close of tomorrow .
The five-member panel, after hearing the substantive request on January 4, will determine whether the Ho High Court, chaired by Judge George Buadi, acted in conjunction with the law when it issued a court order on Mr. Amewu’s newsletter. . .
The members of the panel are judges Samuel K Marful-Sau, Getrude Torkonoo, Clemence Honyenuga and Imoro Tanko Amadu
Substantive case
The attorney general yesterday (December 29) invoked the supervisory jurisdiction of the superior court seeking an order to overturn the Ho Superior Court decision that stopped Mr. Amewu’s publication.
The AG is seeking a certiorari order to overturn the Ho Superior Court decision dated December 23 this year.
It is the AG’s case that the Ho High Court did not have jurisdiction to enter a court order on the publication of Mr. Amewu because all the legal action leading to the decision was a nullity.
According to the Prosecutor General, the action before the Ho High Court, although formulated as a human rights action under article 33 of the 1992 Constitution, was clearly a petition for a parliamentary election, which could not be brought under article 33 of the 1992 Constitution.
The case hearing was originally scheduled for January 12, but the attorney general filed a request for a time reduction.
Shipping
Advocating for the reduction of time today, a deputy AG, Godfred Yeboah Dame, argued that it was of the utmost importance that the case be brought up because it had implications for the composition of the eighth parliament that is due to open in January. 7,2021
According to him, the 8th Parliament would not be completed if the case was still pending by January 7, 2021.
Such a situation, he said, would affect the people of Hohoe and the nation at large.
Although the time reduction request was filed ex parte, the court allowed the interested parties’ attorney, Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, to make a presentation.
Tsikata also argued that the case must be heard quickly because his clients who were residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi, (SALL) were denied the opportunity to vote in the last parliamentary elections held on December 7.
He asked the court to hear the matter immediately, even if on January 1, which was a legal holiday.
“We are ready to present our statement for tomorrow and begin the hearing immediately, even if it is on January 1,” argued the lawyer.
Judge Tanko Amadu reminded the lawyer that January 1 was a legal holiday and therefore the court could not meet on that day as it would be illegal.
The court finally decided to hear the case on January 4.
Background
On December 23, the Ho High Court, chaired by Judge George Buadi, granted an interim injunction preventing the EC from publishing the New Patriotic Party (PNP) candidate Amewu as an elected deputy for Hohoe.
This followed an ex parte application submitted by five people, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for the Hohoe constituency, Professor Margaret Kweku.
The plaintiffs had argued that Mr. Amewu’s election as deputy-elect was plagued with many “shortcomings” and that Mr. Amewu “was not properly elected to represent the people of the Hohoe Constituency.”
Basically, the applicants argued that the voters of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi, (SALL) only had the opportunity to vote in the presidential elections and not in the parliamentary elections.
It should be noted that the EC did not hold parliamentary elections in SALL following a Supreme Court decision in June this year, which declared that it was unconstitutional for SALL, which is now located in the Oti region, to be part of the constituency. of Hohoe, which is located in Volta. Region
According to the high court, according to article 47 (2) of the 1992 Constitution, “no electoral district should be comprised of more than one region.”
Writer’s Email: This e-mail address is protected against spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
[ad_2]
