John Mahama
The Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice Anin Yeboah, yesterday gave the 2020 presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, the opportunity to amend some errors in his petition challenging the declaration of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
Other members of the panel included Justice Yaw Apau, Justice Samuel Marfu-Sau, Justice Nene Amegatcher, Justice Nii Ashie Kotei, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo and Justice Mariama Owusu.
Mr Mahama’s petition had interchanged the Electoral Commission and President Akufo-Addo in one of the reliefs being sought.
The court, in granting the motion for amendment, during its first sitting, said the typographical errors sought to be corrected did not materially affect the substance of the case.
Live telecast
Lead counsel for the petitioner, Tsatsu Tsikata, attempted to move his first motion seeking a live telecast of the entire election petition hearing. The court, however, interrupted him and indicated that the arrangement for a live telecast had already been agreed on.
This paved way for Mr Tsikata to go ahead and move his second motion for the amendment of the petition.
But this was fiercely opposed by both counsels for the 1st respondent (the Electoral Commission) and the 2nd respondent (President Akufo-Addo), Justin Amenuvor and Akoto Ampaw, respectively.
The two opposed the petitioner’s application on the grounds that the rules do not permit the petitioner to make correction to the petition.
Ruling
The Supreme Court, after a brief recess, granted the application, ordering the petitioner to file the corrected petition by close of business yesterday.
The NDC presidential candidate was given up to 4 pm yesterday to file his amended application at the court, while the respondents were given up to today, January 15, 2021, to file their amended responses.
The case was further adjourned to Tuesday, January 19, 2021, for pre-trial to commence.
Petition
Mr Mahama is praying the Supreme Court to order the 1st respondent to rerun the election between himself and President Akufo-Addo, claiming that per the results declared, none of the presidential candidates met the constitutional threshold to be elected president.
Both 1st and 2nd respondent have since filed their responses, raising preliminary objections which seek the dismissal of the petition right from the beginning.
Panel
Unlike the 2012 election petition hearing, the Supreme Court has empanelled a seven-member panel, comprising two females and five males to sit on the case.
The Chief Justice, Justice Anin-Yeboah, is also among the seven-member panel to hearing the case, unlike in 2012 where Chief Justice Mrs Georgina Woode did not join the panel.
All members on the panel, but the Chief Justice, are new members who were not part of the 2012 petition panel.
No fresh elections?
Meanwhile, a private legal practitioner, Kwame Gyan, says Mr Mahama’s request to have a rerun of the 2020 election will not be granted by the Supreme Court.
Drawing lessons from the 2012 election, Kwame Gyan explained that the Supreme Court Justices in their ruling made it clear that elections are won at the polling stations and that elections are about vigilance.
He believes, in that case, if the agents of a specific party fail to discharge their duties and run to the Supreme Court for redress, it becomes a case of impossibility.
“The 2012 election petition was a landmark one and I tell you that it is still the position that elections are about vigilance. Elections walk with equity and equity helps the vigilance not the indolence. Elections are about vigilance, so if you sleep on your job and come to the Supreme Court for redress after the person has been sworn in, it will be difficult,” he was reported to have said on Angel FM.
He added: “When I handle people’s land cases, I tell them never to allow the other party sack them from the land. I tell them to protect the land. If the person dislodges you, you won’t come back.
“I don’t see any election coming out of this petition. No new election will come out because the international observers even endorsed it but had issues with the collation which they said was not transparent.”
No violation
Kwame Gyan also said that the petition by Mr Mahama is purely arithmetic, adding that the petitioner failed to mention the violation of any law in his petition.
He noted that Mr Mahama’s petition, unlike the 2012 petition by President Akufo-Addo, is silent on specific electoral laws that were breached.
“This petition is purely arithmetic. It’s like adding numbers. It is not law but arithmetic. The NPP petition was about whether specific electoral laws had been violated but this one is about whether someone has made basic arithmetic errors. One is law and the other is mathematics,” he said.
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