Buem election case: I heard it on air and was never served, says Kofi Adams

Kofi Adams, the Member of Parliament for Buem says he was never served to appear in court in the case of the Buem election petition filed in the Hohoe High Court.

Speaking on Town Hall Talk on Asaase Radio, Adams said: “I heard it on air, actually I was never served, personally. I was told that some people went to the High Court in Hohoe that they were coming from SALL [Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe] and their lawyers were Frank Davies and few others and everybody knows where Frank Davies’ interest is and that they were to vote in Buem.”

“These people have never voted in Buem, they had always voted in Hohoe. That’s the constituency they belong to…Buem has been a constituency that has existed since 1992 up till now. Its boundaries have never been reviewed either by law or anything. I’m told that the Judge said they can’t come through an ex-parte application, so they should serve me, I was never served. They went back to court on Wednesday 6 January 2021and the judge told them since they hadn’t served and they must come on notice, he is adjourning the case sine dine”

Earlier, Stephen Brempong, Johnson Addo, Titus Ayivor, Fuseini Abdul-Rahman and Wing Commander Emmanuel Kusi Apietu (retd) are part of 13 voters from the Oti Region sued National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Buem Constituency, Kofi Adams, and the Electoral Commission at the Hohoe High Court for disenfranchising them in the 7 December 2020 parliamentary election.

The complainants, who are residents of 13 electoral areas in Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe (SALL), filed a suit and a petition challenging the election of Adams and seeking a cancellation of the 7 December parliamentary election respectively.

The petitioners were also seeking the conduct of a new election which would include their 13 electoral areas to allow them to cast their vote.

But the court adjourned the case due to the inability of the applicants to notify the first respondent, Kofi Adams of the petition seeking to prevent him from presenting himself to be sworn-in as MP-elect for Buem or from holding himself as such.

But Kofi Adams told Kofi Abotsi host of Town Hall Talk,  that “The interesting thing is some of the people whose names I’ve seen on social media as petitioners [chased us out]. I went there when I was hearing rumour that there was confusion and that they don’t even know where to go and vote whether in Buem, Hohoe or they will create a constituency for them. I decided that as a politician, look, my flagbearer is contesting election, he needs votes from there so let me also go in there and help the campaign.

“These were the very people who were chasing some of us out because they had chased their own Buem candidate out that they are not part of Buem. So it is surprising that these same people will go in there to go and say that they are part of Buem.”

Adams added, “So they had just shot themselves in the foot, destroyed their political agenda and career as far as SALL is concerned.”

Removal from office of EC officials

He said “But I’m not really worried, if there is any CI that place them under Buem, there are possibly two ways that could happen; they can say vote for your votes to be added or we annul the election [and that] there should be a rerun of the entire process. Whichever way, Kofi Adams will win and even win bigger.

“If it happens that there was a CI that placed them under Buem then the Electoral Commission officials have serious constitutional issue to answer and that is enough grounds for their removal.”

* Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#asaaseradio  #TVOL