Ghanaian hiplife musician Maradona Yeboah Adjei, popularly known as Guru, has been elected President of the Student Representative Council (SRC) of the University of Ghana.
Guru was announced the winner of the polls on Wednesday, 19 September 2024. Alongside his running mate, Jeffery Adu-Yeboah, he secured an overwhelming 9,455 votes out of a total of 18,659 valid votes cast, representing 50.7% of the total.
His closest contender, Emmanuel Owusu Amponsah, along with his running mate, Lawrence Edinam Egleh, garnered 6,645 votes, making up 35.6% of the total votes cast.
His candidacy for the SRC elections was marked by controversy prior to the polls. Guru had filed a petition against the University of Ghana’s Student Representative Council (SRC) Electoral Commission after being disqualified from the presidential race due to his non-residential status, which violated Article 30 of the SRC Constitution.
The article mandates that candidates must be campus residents and eligible to contest for a Junior Common Room (JCR) position in their hall.
An injunction against Guru’s reinstatement
His legal team swiftly responded by filing a petition with the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs and the Electoral Commission, and also sought an interim injunction from the Judicial Board, requesting the suspension of the election process until a proper hearing was held.
After the hearing, on 15 September 2024, the Appeals Board unanimously set aside the disqualification by a 7-0 decision.
However, a day before the elections, an Accra Circuit Court granted an interlocutory injunction against the conduct of the SRC election following Guru’s reinstatement. The plaintiff, Joseph Asioh Mawuli, a level 200 student, filed the case against the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, the Dean of Student Affairs, the SRC Electoral Commissioner, and the University, challenging the reinstatement of Guru NKZ in the race.
Guru reinstated in UG SRC Presidential race after winning appeal
Mawuli sought the court’s declaration that “the decision by the vetting committee of the SRC to disqualify Adjei Yeboah Maradona and Emmanuel Owusu Amponsah for their failure to meet the qualification requirement under Article 30(1)(a) of the SRC constitution is in accordance with law and of binding effect.”
Despite this legal action, sources within the Electoral Commission confirmed that the Commission decided to proceed with the online election scheduled for Wednesday, 18 September 2024.
Indeed, despite the interlocutory injunction, the EC conducted the elections as planned. A report by Radio Universe stated that the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs denied any restrictions on the EC and confirmed that the elections would take place as scheduled.
Pulse
