Essikado-Ketan election petitioner fined GH¢20k for withdrawing case

A Sekondi High Court, has fined the 2020 National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Essikado-Ketan, Dr. Grace Ayensu Danquah GH¢20,000 after she filed a notice of discontinuance at the court in the election petition case against Joe Ghartey and the Electoral Commission.

The court presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere awarded the cost against the petitioner in favour of the 1st and 2nd respondents.

Speaking after the proceedings, lawyer for the petitioner, Daniel Ametepe explained that his client filed the notice of discontinuance of the case which had been before the court since 2021 because of delays and to pave way for development in the Essikado-Ketan which has been affected due to the petition.
Counsel for the petitioner, Daniel Ametepe.

“It is left with just about two years to the next elections but because of this case, not much in terms of development is happening in Essikado-Ketan, but just confusion. Everyone is hoping to see an end to this case. We filed a witness statement for three witnesses to come before the court to narrate what happened on the 7th and 8th December 2020 because we had a case. Joe Ghartey’s Lawyer filed a motion for the case to be dismissed, but he lost that case and still went ahead to file an appeal to that ruling. Even the appeal that Joe Ghartey made his lawyer file, he is not pursuing it. This is all to create uncertainty in the High Court. So the processes that we have taken to terminate the case is part of the rules of the court. That is why the judge granted our case of discontinuation,” he said.

Dr. Grace Anyensu-Danquah, a first-time contender for the Essikado-Ketan Constituency seat on behalf of the NDC managed to shrink the four-term Joe Ghartey’s 10,000 votes margin in 2016 to just around 2,000 vote margin in 2020 in a disputed parliamentary contest leading to the election petition.