Supreme Court quashes injunction placed on NDC ERYO elect
After the NDC Eastern Regional Youth Election at Nsawam last year, the main contender and defeated candidate, Okai Minta, who happened to be the incumbent, lost by three votes to his Deputy, Richard Etornam
Per his December 8, 2022 ruling on an injunction application filed by the defeated Eastern Regional Youth Organiser of the NDC, Emmanuel Okai Minta, the presiding High Court judge at Koforidua, His Lordship Nana Yaw Gyamfi Frimpong inter alia declared the said Regional Election as null and void.
This however did not go down well with the 5th respondent led by Edudzi Tameklo because according to them the court had proceeded to grant the reliefs on the writ in an injunction application when the merits of the case are yet to be determined.
As such, the 5th Respondent and the embattled elected Regional Youth Organiser, Richard Etornam Nyarko filed a judicial review action at the Supreme Court seeking the writs of Certiorari and Prohibition against the said ruling and the sitting judge respectively.
When the case was called on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, the applicant led by Lawyer Isaac Larbi Esq prayed the 5-member panel presided over by Justice Gabriel Pwamang to grant their reliefs because the trial judge exceeded his jurisdiction by prematurely deciding the substantive matter in an injunction ruling.
The apex court was thus convinced by the above and thus granted the writs and accordingly restrained the High Court judge from sitting on the matter.
After the NDC Eastern Regional Youth Election at Nsawam last year, the main contender and defeated candidate, Okai Minta, who happened to be the incumbent, lost by three votes to his Deputy, Richard Etornam.
He however suspected foul play since according to him, delegates from Afraim Plains South and Atewa West were not eligible to vote owing to the nullification of their elections by the Functional Executive Committee of the party.
Consequently, he filed a suit at the Koforidua High Court seeking among others to injunct the Youth Organiser elect and an order to annul the Regional Youth election.
The sitting judge however per his ruling on the injunction, declared the said election as null and void which was the matter in contention per the civil motion filed at the Supreme Court.
