General News of 2013-02-06

NDC must do their Homework and stop propaganda – Gloria Akuffo

A member of the NPP legal team challenging the 2012 election results in court is accusing the ruling party of misrepresenting what actually happened in court on Tuesday for propaganda purposes.

The Supreme Court had ordered the petitioners to provide particulars on the 4,709 polling stations where election irregularities allegedly took place.

But Ms Gloria Akuffo, explained to Joy News that not all the applications by the first respondent was granted by the Court as the public have been made to believe.

“The court granted their (respondents’) application in part and rejected their application also in part,” she noted.

The details of which polling stations and how many people voted without biometric verification, places where presiding officers or their assistants failed to sign the declaration forms as were as where over voting occurred, the Court denied them that, she said, “the court held that those were outside the purview of the rules and did not grant them"

She however confirmed that the respondents were granted the application for the names of the 4,709 polling stations where it is alleged that there were gross and widespread irregularities.

The petitioners, according to Ms Akuffo are “very comfortable” with today’s decision by the Court because “they (respondents) didn’t get what they wanted. They wanted the exact numbers and placement of those places which we felt were, in the purview, in the nature of evidence that was refused them”.

She promised to put the details of today’s ruling in the public domain as soon as they are available to them, “and you will realise that it is misleading to say that the court granted all the particulars that they were seeking, the court did not do that”.

She further explained that the Court decided not to grant the respondents some of the particulars requested because they were “evidence” but those granted them were “facts”.

“We think that they haven’t got what they wanted, they are doing propaganda and they are creating the impression that they are happy. They have to go and do their homework some more”.

Meanwhile, the Court also by a unanimous decision granted the petitioners’ application to direct the EC to provide them with detail records of persons abroad and returning peacekeepers who were registered to vote in the elections.

They had requested details of the names and addresses of persons who were registered overseas and the mode and manner in which those persons were registered.

The Court also overruled objection by the first respondent to the application by the petitioners to amend their petition, the substantive application has therefore been adjourned to 7th February for hearing.