Election petition: 'It was a wonderful judgment' – Adobea Asante

The Supreme Court judgment on the election petition was a “wonderful” one, Nana Adjoa Adobea Asante, a member of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s legal team has said.

It was “commonsensical, very logical and the lay Ghanaian will understand it because it was devoid of too much legalese”, she told Kofi Kwarteng on the Class Morning Show on Friday, 5 March 2021.

“I was so impressed by the judgment”, she added.

Read the full judgment below:

The court, on Thursday, 4 March 2021, upheld the results of last year’s presidential election, saying the petitioner, former President John Mahama, failed to prove that the winner did not cross the constitutionally required threshold of more than 50 per cent of the valid votes cast.

The ruling means President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will continue in office as President until his second term is over.

Nana Akufo-Addo polled 51.3 per cent of the valid votes, according to figures from the Electoral Commission while Mr Mahama, who was the 2020 flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), polled 47 per cent.

Delivering the judgment, Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah said: “The petition is dismissed as without merit."

According to the court, the correction of an error by the EC Chairperson, Mrs Jean Mensa, concerning the total number of valid votes cast, was within her mandate and did not affect the will of the people.

Also, the court said Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the NDC and first witness of the petitioner, admitted in court during his cross-examination that per the EC’s figures, Nana Akufo-Addo crossed the more-than-50 per cent threshold.

The Bench also said no credible evidence was adduced by the petitioner to contradict the figures announced by the EC.

Furthermore, the court said the figures announced by the EC were “right and represented the will of the people”.

It noted that the petitioner only complained of errors but failed to provide evidence to back those claims that none of the two candidates passed the more-than-50 per cent threshold.

Additionally, the Bench said the allegation of vote-padding was not proved by any evidence, adding that even if proven, it would not have had any significant impact on the results as announced by the EC Chairperson.

Mr Mahama went to court to challenge the result of the 2020 polls after the EC declared Mr Akufo-Addo winner.

He argued that neither he nor President Akufo-Addo crossed the threshold to be declared winner.

He, therefore, did not understand why the Electoral Commission (EC) declared Nana Akufo-Addo the winner and the President-elect and has, subsequently, been sworn in.

Mr Mahama had prayed the Supreme Court to order a rerun of the election between himself and Nana Akufo-Addo.