On September 2, 2024, a Tamale High Court ruled to annul the January 2024 parliamentary primary results for the Walewale constituency, which had initially declared Dr. Kabiru Tia Mahama the winner over incumbent MP Lariba Abudu by a narrow margin of just 7 votes.
Lariba Abudu contested the election results, citing significant irregularities such as improper handling of spoilt ballots, overvoting, and votes cast by deceased individuals.
In her legal challenge, Mr Abudu sought either the annulment of the election results or a recount and correction of the disputed ballots.
Summary of the Judgment:
Judge Richard Mac Kogyapwah, sitting as a High Court Judge with additional responsibilities as a Justice of the Court of Appeal, presided over the case and delivered a ruling in favor of the plaintiff, the incumbent MP. The court granted three key reliefs which led to the annulment of the January 2024 parliamentary primary results for the Walewale constituency.
The court determined that the election was marred by serious irregularities and violations of electoral regulations, including the involvement of deceased voters, impersonation, and multiple voting. As a result, the court declared the election results legally invalid.
Key Reliefs Granted:
- 1. Declaration of Improper Results Declaration: The court found that the results of the January 27, 2024, NPP parliamentary primaries were declared by an unauthorized individual, not the officially assigned Electoral Commission official, and before resolving issues related to 19 disputed spoilt ballots, thereby undermining the integrity of the results.
- 2. Acknowledgment of Election Irregularities: The court recognized that the primary was plagued by significant electoral violations, such as overvoting and the inclusion of votes from deceased delegates, which rendered the election null and void.
- 3. Order for Re-run: The court annulled the election results and ordered a re-run of the primaries to address these issues and ensure a fair election process.
Abandoned Reliefs:
In the course of the proceedings, the plaintiff had initially pursued a number of alternative remedies but later withdrew the following requests:
1. An order of the Court for the ballots to be brought to court and recounted and where the ballots have been tampered with or cannot be procured an order for the re-run of the polls.
2. A declaration that when the 19 alleged spoiled ballots are scrutinized properly some of those ballots are valid votes in favour of the Plaintiff and when added to the valid votes cast in Plaintiff’s favour, Plaintiff will emerge as the winner of the polls.
The court is expected to deliver a full, reasoned judgment on September 12, 2024.