The Koforidua High Court in the Eastern Region has issued an interim injunction preventing Ernest Kumi, the declared Member of Parliament-elect for the Akwatia constituency, from being sworn into office.
The ruling follows a legal challenge over alleged irregularities in the results of the parliamentary elections.
Kumi, a candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), was declared the winner by the Electoral Commission (EC) three weeks ago with 19,269 votes, ahead of his closest rival, Henry Boakye-Yiadom of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who secured 17,206 votes.
The announcement of the results took place at the National Police Training School in Tesano, Accra, after earlier attempts to finalize the process in the Eastern Region faced setbacks.
Henry Boakye-Yiadom, the NDC candidate, subsequently filed a lawsuit against the EC, Ernest Kumi, and the Clerk to Parliament. In his suit, he is seeking to block Kumi’s assumption of office, citing alleged discrepancies in the vote collation process.
Granting the injunction, the court directed: “The respondents, their representatives, agents, servants, and all privies are restrained from proceeding to call, admit, register, swear in, recognise, or gazette the 1st respondent (Ernest Kumi) as the elected Member of Parliament for the Akwatia constituency.”
Ernest Kumi has also been ordered not to present himself as the MP for Akwatia until further notice. The legal battle raises uncertainties about representation for the constituency as the matter awaits resolution.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Gumedzo Isaac Acheampong
