NDC Election Petition: Legal team of President Akufo-Addo ready for tussle - NPP

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) says the Legal Team of President Akufo-Addo is ready to expose the emptiness of NDC Flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama's Election Petition at the Supreme Court.

A statement signed and issued by Mr Yaw Buaben Asamoa, NPP's Communications Director, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, on Thursday, said the court process would indeed, reaffirm President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the true winner of the 2020 Presidential Election.

It said the NPP's response in court would show that the NDC had no material evidence of value and expose the Party's false claims that its flag bearer, John Mahama won the just-ended election.

"The NPP is assured that the 7th December 2020 Elections was won fair and square. Indeed, the evidence presented by the NDC has only reassured the people of Ghana that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo won the elections.

Mr Mahama, through his lawyers, on Wednesday, December 30,2020 filed a petition at the country's apex court to legally challenge the 2020 Presidential Election, which the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Jean Mensa, declared President Akufo-Addo, as President-elect on December 9,2020.

"The fact of transparency of the General Election was also resoundingly affirmed by the myriad of local and international observers that participated in the electoral process," the statement said.

The NPP urged Mr Mahama to call the NDC's supporters to order and halt the street protests to ensure peace and tranquility in the country.

"It is also unfortunate that even after filing the Petition in court, the NDC led by John Dramani Mahama continues to incite supporters to pour onto the streets to cause chaos and anarchy.

" They have attempted and continue to use lies, threats, violence, and intimidation to seek forlornly to overrule the manifest will of the people as freely expressed on 7th December, 2020.

"We are absolutely confident that the facts and figures as presented in court, even by the NDC, will very easily, in a transparent and indisputable manner, reaffirm the expressed will of the voting public that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo won the 2020 Presidential Election “one touch” and convincingly so.

The statement said it was quite worrying that Mr Mahama, through his social media handles, continues to incite violence even as he invokes his right to use the court process to settle his grievance.

It said Mr Mahama wrote on his Facebook and Twitter walls that while in court, the NDC will continue all legitimate actions, including protests, to demand the enforcement of the rule of law and protection of life and property of the good people of Ghana.

That, the NPP viewed the action as unfortunate and unbefitting of a former President of the Republic.

" In his latest Press Conference, he (Mahama) explained he is going to court only “to remove doubt.” Does he need the Supreme Court to remove his doubts about losing the elections?"

The statement said the several attempts by the NDC to use lies, threats, violence and intimidation to overrule the will of the people is disappointingly undemocratic of Mr Mahama and a breach of the Peace Pact signed on December 4, ahead of the election.

"We call on John Dramani Mahama to immediately retract his insightful statements to his supporters. It is highly irresponsible of him to commence the judicial process yet still admonish his supporters to continue with the violent protests that have threatened the security and peace of Ghanaians," the NPP said.

It said when NPP filed a Petition in 2012, the Party admonished its supporters not to hit the streets and they compiled and urged the NDC and its flag bearer to do the same.

The statement said the NPP is confident that due process would prevail, and the Supreme Court would deal with the Petition in accordance with the rule of law.