THE REPUBLIC vs. THE HIGH COURT, BOLGATANGA, HAJIA FATI SEIDU [2001]DLSC2373

Date	2001-01-24
Suit No.	CIVIL MOTION NO. 2/2001
Citation No.	[2001]DLSC2373

WIREDU AG. C.J. (PRESIDING)

ADJABENG J.S.C

ACQUAH J.S.C.

ATUGUBA J.S.C

AKUFFO J.S.C

LAMPTEY J.S.C.

ADZOE J.S.C.

NANA AKUFO ADDO WITH MR. PHILIP ADDISON AND MISS YVONNE OSEI GYAU FOR APPLICANT

MR. KWAKU BAAH WITH MR. JAMES B. KABA FOR 2ND RESPONDENT.

LYNES QUASHIE IDUN FOR ELECTORAL COMMISSION

[2001]DLSC2373
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE HIGH COURT, BOLGATANGA, HAJIA FATI SEIDU<o:p></o:p>[SUPREME
COURT]<o:p></o:p>CIVIL
MOTION NO. 2/2001<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

DATE:
24TH JANUARY, 2001.<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL<o:p></o:p>NANA
AKUFO ADDO WITH MR. PHILIP ADDISON AND MISS YVONNE OSEI GYAU FOR APPLICANT<o:p></o:p>MR.
KWAKU BAAH WITH MR. JAMES B. KABA FOR 2ND RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

LYNES
QUASHIE IDUN FOR ELECTORAL COMMISSION<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM: <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

WIREDU,
AG. C.J. (PRESIDING), ADJABENG, J.S.C., ACQUAH J.S.C., ATUGUBA, J.S.C., AKUFFO,
J.S.C., LAMPTEY, J.S.C., ADZOE, J.S.C.<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>REASONS FOR DECISION<o:p></o:p>On
Tuesday, 15th January, 2001, we unanimously granted the prayer of Madam Hawa
Yakubu, the applicant herein, to quash the proceedings and order of the
Bolgatanga High Court dated 6th January, 2001 in petition No. C.S. 18/2000
intituled Hajia Fati Seidu Vrs. Madam Hawa Yakubu &amp; 2 Ors. We reserved our
reasons which we now proceed to deliver.<o:p></o:p>Madam
Hawa Yakubu and Madam Hajia Fati Seidu were two of the candidates that
contested in the 7th December, 2000 parliamentary elections for the Bawku
Central Constituency. Madam Hawa Yakubu stood on the ticket of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP), while Madam Hajia Fati Seidu was the National Democratic
Congress (NDC) candidate. In all there were 151 polling stations in that
constituency. The result of the votes counted showed Madam Hawa Yakubu winning
that parliamentary seat. Thereafter, Madam Hajia Fati Seidu filed a petition at
the Bolgatanga High Court against Madam Hawa Yakubu as 1st Respondent, the
Electoral Commission as 2nd Respondent, and the Attorney-General as 3rd
Respondent, for:<o:p></o:p>1. An order of the Honourable Court
directing an examination of all votes cast for the Parliamentary elections in
all the 151 polling stations of the Bawku constituency and in particular to
order a scrutiny of the votes of the 4 polling stations that were not accounted
for on the 7th and 8th days of December, 2000.<o:p></o:p>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;
A declaration by the Court that the Petitioner had majority of all
lawful votes cast for the parliamentary elections in the Bawku Central
Constituency conducted on 7th December, 2000.<o:p></o:p>3.&nbsp;
A perpetual injunction restraining the 1st Respondent from styling
and/or holding out herself as duly elected Member of Parliament for the Bawku
Central Constituency and more particularly from taking up a seat in Parliament
and participating in any proceedings of Parliament.<o:p></o:p>4. A perpetual injunction restraining
the 2nd Respondent and 3rd Respondents from gazetting the 1st Respondent as the
duly elected Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Constituency.<o:p></o:p>A
notice of discontinuance was later filed to discontinue the petition against
Madam Hawa Yakubu<o:p></o:p>On
6th January, 2001, the Bolgatanga High Court granted the discontinuance and
after hearing Counsel for the Petitioner, the 2nd Respondent and that of the
3rd Respondent, proceeded to order<o:p></o:p>“.... the recollation and adding up of
the polling officers reports of votes cast as forwarded to the Returning
Officer after the election on 7th December, 2000 and if the matter of
controversy over the actual figures are not resolved by that exercise, for the
parties i.e. the 2nd Respondent, a representative of the 3rd Respondent, two
representatives each of the NDC and the NPP to proceed further to take a
physical count of all the valid votes cast respectively for the NDC and NPP
candidates. The designated team is to compile a report to be signed by each one
of them indicating the returns and or votes from each polling station for each
of the two parties.&nbsp; The report in the
form of affidavit must be filed in this Court before the close of day on Monday,
8th January, 2001”.<o:p></o:p>It
is the proceedings and order of 6th January, 2001 that we quashed following
Madam Hawa Yakubu’s application for certiorari.<o:p></o:p>Two
reasons were advanced by Nana Akuffo Addo, leading Counsel for the Applicant in
support of the application — first, the proceedings and order were made in
breach of the rules of natural justice, particularly, the audi alteram partem
rule, and second, the petition was premature in view of Section 18(1) of the
Representation of People’s Law 1992 (PNDCL 284).<o:p></o:p>Mr.
Kwaku Baah, Counsel for the 2nd Respondent filed no papers in opposition, and
did indeed indicate at the hearing that he was not opposing the grant of
certiorari.<o:p></o:p>Now
from the reliefs set out in the petition at the Bolgatanga High Court, it is
evidently clear that the Petitioner was challenging the validity of the
election of Madam Hawa Yakubu, and even sought an injunction to prevent her
from taking her seat in Parliament.&nbsp; Such
a petition is an election petition within the intendment of Article 99(1)(a) of
the 1992 Constitution and Section 16 of PNDCL 284.<o:p></o:p>Sections
16, 17, and 18 of PNDCL 284 regulate the presentation of an election petition,
while Sections 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 deal with the handling of an election
petition by the High Court.<o:p></o:p>Section
16 gives the High Court, an exclusive original jurisdiction in election
petitions. Section 17 sets out those who are competent to present an election
petition in the following words:<o:p></o:p><s</main>