Tamale High Court throws out NPP's application against injunction on Walewale Parliamentary election

The Tamale High Court presided over by His Lordship, Justice Richard Kogyapwah, has thrown out an application of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) seeking to dismiss an injunction application filed by the incumbent Member of Parliament for the area, Hajia Lariba Zuwera Abudu against the parliamentary primary results declaring Dr Kabiru Tia Mahama as the 2024 Parliamentary candidate.

Lawyer of the NPP, Gary Nimako Marfo who filed the motion last month prayed the court to dismiss the injunction of the plaintiff, arguing that she failed to exhaust internal party conflict resolution mechanisms as stipulated in the NPP's Constitution before heading to court.

However, the Court last Friday (15th March, 2024) dismissed the motion of the NPP and awarded a cost of GHc8,000 against the party and the first defendant, Dr Abdul-Karibu Tia Mahama, who was declared as the candidate elect.

The Presiding Judge consequently directed the defendants to open their defence.

Meanwhile, the Court on January 29, granted an interlocutory injunction of the former Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection and ordered the Electoral Commission (EC) not to submit the name of Dr Tia Mahama to the NPP as the Parliamentary candidate elect for the 2024 general election.

The Court further said Dr Kabiru Tia Mahama and his assigns should be restrained from holding out as the elected NPP Parliamentary candidate for the 2024 polls.

“It is hereby ordered that the defendants are restrained herein, whether by themselves, their agents, assigns, workmen and allies, from holding out the 1st defendants as the New Patriotic Party’s candidate elect for the Walewale constituency for the 2024 parliamentary elections and or from submitting the name of the 1st defendants to the NPP, National office as the candidate elect in the 27th January 2024 New Patriotic Party parliamentary primaries for the Walewale constituency.”

Background
The incumbent MP filed a motion ex-parte at the Tamale High Court challenging the results of the primary held on January 27, 2024.

She cited electoral irregularities and malpractice as the basis for the application.

"For example, you have people who are dead casting their votes and then the agent of the plaintiff called for a recount of the ballots because there is an issue of nineteen rejected ballots [if we had scrutinized those nineteen rejected ballots] then it would’ve turned out that my client is the winner of the polls and not Dr Mahama,” Counsel of the plaintiff, Sylvester Isang asserted.

Hajia Lariba Zuwera Abudu polled a margin of 334 against her closest contender, Dr Kabiru Tia Mahama who polled 343 votes.