Koforidua High Court sets timeline for Suhum election petition ruling
This assurance was given on Wednesday, September 25, during the cross-examination of the second principal witness for the petitioner. The trial judge urged full cooperation from both parties to ensure deadlines are met.
Justice George Krofa-Addae of the Koforidua High Court has assured that judgment in the ongoing Suhum parliamentary election petition will be delivered before the end of the 2025/2026 legal year.
This assurance was given on Wednesday, September 25, during the cross-examination of the second principal witness for the petitioner. The trial judge urged full cooperation from both parties to ensure deadlines are met.
The disputed Suhum parliamentary race of 2024 was one of the most closely fought contests. The Electoral Commission eventually declared the results at the Police Training School in Accra, days after voting had closed.
Frank Asiedu Bekoe, also known as Protozoa, was announced as the victor with 16,855 votes.
His nearest challenger, Prince Kwadwo Addo Tabiri of the NDC, polled 15,259, while independent aspirant and former MP Kwadjo Asante secured 14,860. Another independent contender, Emmanuel Dede Wiafe, managed 159 votes.
Asante, who broke away from the NPP to contest as an independent, has since filed a petition questioning the credibility of the declared outcome. His sworn affidavit alleges irregularities, pointing to:
37 pink sheets with more than one biometric verification device (BVD) number
Five sheets without any BVD details
Three lacking presiding officers’ signatures
14 carrying contradictory voter statistics
Results from six polling centres, covering 3,381 voters, left out of the official declaration
He argued: “As the voter population of the six (6) polling stations chronicled supra cumulates to a total voter population of Three Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighty One (3,381)…the figure 2,029 is highly significant to impact the direction of the polls in one way or the other, particularly in favour of the Petitioner or that of the National Democratic Congress that is if we are to admit the figures from the 160 collated Statement of Polls.”
Asante is demanding that the results be annulled and is seeking an order for either a rerun in the affected centres or an entirely fresh election in Suhum.
Bekoe, however, maintains that the election was conducted properly and insists his victory margin proves the process was legitimate. He cast doubt on Asante’s case, saying:
“My Lord, from the results declared, even when the Petitioner through his agent objected to the inclusion of six (6) polling stations in which I won the majority of the total valid votes cast, the Petitioner lost the Suhum Constituency Parliamentary Elections to me by 1,995 votes. It is strange that after objecting to the inclusion of results from six (6) polling stations in which I won the total votes, the same person would come to court to challenge his own objection.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, Bekoe’s lawyer, Gary Nimako, after questioning the petitioner’s second key witness a collation agent announced he would not call the first and second respondents for further cross-examination. According to him, the petitioner had failed to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court has now directed that two additional witnesses brought forward by the petitioner must file their statements by October 3.
