REPUBLIC v. HIGH COURT, HO

The Attorney-General applied to the Supreme Court for certiorari and prohibition after the High Court, Ho, granted ex-parte injunctions restraining the Electoral Commission from gazetting John Peter Amewu and restraining his presentation for swearing-in as MP-elect for Hohoe. The underlying suit was brought by Professor Margaret Kweku (NDC candidate) and SALL voters as a human rights action under article 33(1) and Order 67 of C.I. 47, seeking declarations and orders grounded in alleged violations of voting and representation rights. The Supreme Court held that reliefs which effectively challenge the validity or consequences of a parliamentary election must be pursued exclusively by election petition under article 99 and PNDCL 284, not through human rights proceedings. It found the High Court’s interim orders void for lack of jurisdiction and, in any event, time-limited and lapsed. The Court quashed the proceedings leading to those orders and struck out the election-challenge reliefs, but refused prohibition and left the remaining human rights claims for the High Court to consider, declining to address the constitutionality of C.I. 128.