Election Petition: Only 2 more witnesses left

The 2012 Presidential election petition case currently ongoing at the Supreme Court took a giant step towards expeditious determination when the nine Justices unanimously threw out an application brought by Tsatsu Tsikata, lead counsel for the NDC, and their co-respondents, seeking to cross-examine additional witnesses of the petitioners.

Per this ruling, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, star witness for John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress, 1st and 3rd respondents respectively, and Kwadwo Afari-Gyan or a representative of the EC are the only witnesses left to be examined and cross-examined in this trial, a clear indication that the case could come to end very soon.

Although the affidavits of the Electoral Commission were deposed to by Amadu Sulley, Director of Finance and Administration of the EC, the "New Statesman" can state that Dr Afari Gyan will be in the witness box on behalf of the EC.

The court said there was an “overflow of evidence” to reach a conclusive determination of the case and so did not need evidence of any other witness aside the testimonies of Dr Bawumia, Asiedu Nketia and Dr Afari-Gyan.

The court, in its ruling, noted that granting the application of the respondents would cause undue delay in the adjudication of the case, in contravention of Rule 69 of CI 74.

The court’s ruling was an affirmation of the case made by Philip Addison, lead counsel for the petitioners, who had argued that the motions filed by the three respondents “will not in any way advance” the trial.

He argued that the application tempered with C.1 74 Rule 69 C4 which urges the court to inquire into determining “the issue expeditiously” and give “a ruling not more than 15 days” after all sides had closed their case.

Mr Addison read out portions of the affidavits sworn to by the NPP witnesses as found in paragraph 28 and 31: “Prior to the December 7th elections, the second respondent emphasized to the public that any polling station where over-voting occurred would have its results annulled. This was to protect the integrity of the entire elections as incidence of over-voting undermined the integrity of the polls.”

It is also for this reason, according to Philip Addison that the EC annulled votes cast in some constituencies across the country where the incidence of voting without biometric verification also occurred.

Mr Addison noted that the EC, in its supplementary affidavits filed on April 29, did not contest the fact that its officials annulled results in polling stations where over-voting and voting without biometric verification occurred as stated in the affidavit evidence of the petitioners.

He referred to testimonies by Presiding Officers Mahamudu (Tempre Kumbongini polling station), Bawa (Lamgbisi polling station) and a presiding officer of La Primary School at Kuruguna and other presiding officers.

They all confirmed to have annulled votes at the collation centres because, in some cases, there was over-voting by just one extra ballot.