Ghana beyond the supreme court

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Peter Vanwor 12 years ago

Good piece.

Good piece.
Africanus 12 years ago

Are you sure that Mahama and Nana Addo are patriots or person who only want power and the kickbacks and generous retirement benefits that comes with it? I do not think NPP and NDC are interested in the good of Ghana.

Are you sure that Mahama and Nana Addo are patriots or person who only want power and the kickbacks and generous retirement benefits that comes with it? I do not think NPP and NDC are interested in the good of Ghana.
LONTO-BOY 12 years ago

Arthur K, this is reasonably sensible piece. It is a well written, articulate, balanced and thought-provoking article. I do admire you for your sense of patriotism. As a nation, we've witnessed the legal teams of both NPP and ...
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Arthur K, this is reasonably sensible piece. It is a well written, articulate, balanced and thought-provoking article. I do admire you for your sense of patriotism. As a nation, we've witnessed the legal teams of both NPP and NDC present their cases. As we await the day the Supreme Court finally decides the outcome of the 2012 Presidential Election petition, we can only pray and hope for peace whether the decision favours NDC or NPP. However, we shouldn't be too complacent and naïve into thinking there cannot be sporadic political violence and rioting in some isolated pockets in the country. Ghana is not immune to political violence!

Whatever the outcome of the court's decision, there will be good recommendations and reviews of the country's election laws. There will also be the need to review the structure and composition of the EC. And possible constitutional amendment in the handling of election petitions and political disputes. These can only enhance the country's democracy.

Personally, I'm very disappointed in both the leadership of NPP and NDC for their failure to publicly declare to abide by the Supreme Court's decision irrespective of which way it goes. Otumfuo Osei Tutu's visit to Nana Akufo-Addo and President Mahama is commendable but haven't we been here before with the 'Kumasi Peace Accord'? They haven't publicly displayed any sense of humility, unity, patriotism and statesmanship that could restraint their fanatical supporters and calm the nerves of the nation, as we await the court's verdict.

Now then, if we should consider these hypothetical scenarios: (a) Should the Supreme Court hand victory to Nana Akufo-Addo and NPP, who is going to 'unseat' President Mahama and NDC Government as the Supreme Court has no enforcement power of its own? (b) Where do we go from here, should the SC rule in favour of President Mahama. Will the NPP leadership respect the decision or mount legal challenge again or lead fanatical supporters to occupy the streets? (c) Should the SC call for a re-election/run-off/recount, is the current EC body and flawed voting procedure credible enough to conduct this or a new EC body and new election laws will have to be put in place for this exercise? Remember, to constitute a new EC body and correct the flawed voting procedures will not happen overnight.

There are challenging times ahead! May God Bless our Homeland Ghana!
PKA 12 years ago

What I find disturbing is the right of appeal granted by the Supreme Court per the Mornah case. I thought this should have led to a huge uproar. Let's face it folks, who wants to go through another long process of annoying l ...
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What I find disturbing is the right of appeal granted by the Supreme Court per the Mornah case. I thought this should have led to a huge uproar. Let's face it folks, who wants to go through another long process of annoying legalities after the long and endless legal ordeal Ghanaians are going through now. I thought the Supreme Court shot itself in the foot by granting that request. This ruling could lead to confusion and potential mayhem after the Supreme Court finally makes a ruling. It makes sense for our constitution to state that any ruling by the Supreme Court on an election petition should be final. Ghanaians should brace themselves for another marathon court session after a ruling is made which may not happen anytime soon.
John Anamse 12 years ago

By your thinking then there must never be a right to appeal in any case but the rule of law requires that.

The SC ruled in accordance with the constitution the highest law of the land.

Also note that the SC will also in ...
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By your thinking then there must never be a right to appeal in any case but the rule of law requires that.

The SC ruled in accordance with the constitution the highest law of the land.

Also note that the SC will also in a similar manner protect the sanctity of the right to vote and will not just indiscriminately cancel votes which have been validly cast
PKA 12 years ago

You misunderstood me. I never suggested that there must never be an appeal in any case. I specifically stated that in the case of an ELECTION PETITION, it would not be in the best interest of the state for any individual or ...
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You misunderstood me. I never suggested that there must never be an appeal in any case. I specifically stated that in the case of an ELECTION PETITION, it would not be in the best interest of the state for any individual or party to have the right to appeal after a ruling has been made by the Supreme Court. People need reliable electricity supply and good drinking water everyday and here we are talking about the right to appeal the ruling made by the SC. At what point do we draw the line on these legal wranglings and move on as a nation. The rule of law ceases to be relevant when it threatens to impede the progress of a nation.
Paul Amuna 12 years ago

It is wholly unnecessary and a waste of people's reading time for Ghanaweb to reproduce an article which has been extensively debated and commented on. This is unacceptable!

It is wholly unnecessary and a waste of people's reading time for Ghanaweb to reproduce an article which has been extensively debated and commented on. This is unacceptable!
BOY KOFI 12 years ago

The constitution does not require anybody to win 51% of the votes cast to become president.A candidate needs only 50+01% to win the presidential elections,that's what the constitution says.There will be peace unless you keep ...
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The constitution does not require anybody to win 51% of the votes cast to become president.A candidate needs only 50+01% to win the presidential elections,that's what the constitution says.There will be peace unless you keep polluting the minds of your poor supporters that the winner has stolen the verdict.If we stop talking about stolen verdict there will be always peace for everybody.Why do you call somebody a thief when he has done nothing wrong?The election is over and the loser must concede defeat because there is no evidence that he was cheated anywhere.I don't see where the SC will declare Nana Addo winner in this case because he has not convinced the court of where he was cheated.If he had won with the same administrative errors where he did not steal votes from his opponents I think the International Community will suppoort him alright.Now,let's put Ghana on the International scope to see if anybody at all believes that Nana Addo was cheated.The International Community doesn't see where Nana Addo was cheated so nobody supports his fantasy calls.I think NPP must review their position to international level and stop giving false hope to their poor supporters.The fact is that Nana Addo lost the elections as declared by the Electoral Commission based on the votes cast.I don't see how Nana Addo wants some votes to be thrown away based on his pink sheets,it doesn't make any sense.This will never happen,put that into your head if you are honest.We are not in Supreme court to vote for a president,the petition will be addressed fairly.Thank you.
kobina 12 years ago

Either Boy Kofi misread Mr Kennedy's article or he is intellectually incapable of comprehending the issues raised in the piece. The article does not say anything about a constitutional requirement for a presidential candidate ...
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Either Boy Kofi misread Mr Kennedy's article or he is intellectually incapable of comprehending the issues raised in the piece. The article does not say anything about a constitutional requirement for a presidential candidate to win 51% of the vote to make the victory legitimate. He was just lamenting the fact that the inability of the winner of the recent presidential elections to win more than 51% of t he vote is an indication of deep polarization of the society. What of this nonsense about international role in legitimizing presidential elections in Ghana?
CARDINAL 12 years ago

Kobina, these are the stupid Ndc fool soldiers who populate the forum spewing stupidities. Nowhere did Arthur Kennedy say anything about one needing 51% to win the Presidency. The English he used is even not complicated and t ...
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Kobina, these are the stupid Ndc fool soldiers who populate the forum spewing stupidities. Nowhere did Arthur Kennedy say anything about one needing 51% to win the Presidency. The English he used is even not complicated and this fool in France asylum seeking camp is all over the place crapping his stupidities as always.

CARDINAL 12 years ago

"The constitution does not require anybody to win 51% of the votes cast to become president.A candidate needs only 50+01% to win the presidential elections,that's what the constitution says"

You are an illiterate. Where in ...
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"The constitution does not require anybody to win 51% of the votes cast to become president.A candidate needs only 50+01% to win the presidential elections,that's what the constitution says"

You are an illiterate. Where in the article did he say the constitution requires one to win 51% to become President? Dr Arthur is bemoaning the polirization of Ghanaians where the President cannot even win more than 51% of the electorates and the thin majority of victory in the last two elections.

What is the meaning of administrative errors? Morons like you run with words you don't even understand. If a count should be recorded as 1000 votes and you record is as 10,000 votes, that is administrative error which completely changes the outcome of the election and you think it is an administrative error. How do you determine it is an administrative error instead of it being intentional? Evidence has been presented in this cout where 113 has come out as 713 in favour of Mahama and you want to chalk it to errors? Errors are not chiselled in stone and can be corrected and that is why they are in court.

The court might not be bold to change the EC decision but you are a confused old man. In one instance you wrote;

"I don't see where the SC will declare Nana Addo winner in this case"

Then you went ahead and wrote

"the petition will be addressed fairly"

Will you call the decision fairly if the Supreme Court agrees with Akuffo Addo since you don't see how the SC can declare for Akuffo Addo?
BOY KOFI 12 years ago

All what I'm saying is that give peace a chance.Petition does not mean war or peace.Losing election is not an equation of peace or war.I am 1000 times sure that Nana Addo lost the elections including the parliamentary just li ...
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All what I'm saying is that give peace a chance.Petition does not mean war or peace.Losing election is not an equation of peace or war.I am 1000 times sure that Nana Addo lost the elections including the parliamentary just like in 2008 with the same results.What makes you think that the same thing will give you a different result?I might be an illiterate but I can use my brains.Please continue to insult everybody and always get the same poor results.Insults do not win elections,you must review your position.Ghana is not sitting on any time bomb.So far Nana Addo has not proven where his votes were stolen or where EC massaged figures in favour of Prez Mahama.Now listen carefully,these administive erros have existed even before Kuffour.Did Kuffour also steal the verdict?Let me name some of the administrative errors in Ghana.We don't have National Identification cards,we don't have official residence records.Birth and death registration is not efficient.Above all,energy crisis in addition to technological setbacks and so on.I want Nana Addo to withdraw his petition,that will save him from humiliation.Filing a petition is good but that does not mean he was cheated.He told Kuffour that he was cheated but on what?Was he denied by EC or the winner?These are questions International Community would like to know?The judges know the lapses in our administration.Thank you.
CARDINAL 12 years ago

You are not worth debating because you have an IQ south of Mason Dixon line. You are unstable mentally.

You are not worth debating because you have an IQ south of Mason Dixon line. You are unstable mentally.
Whatever 12 years ago

The illustration you've given in the third paragraph ignores the fact that NDC tried to introduce similar pink sheets numbers that gave Akufo Addo similarly unfair votes. NPP as we all know, oppose that introduction and succe ...
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The illustration you've given in the third paragraph ignores the fact that NDC tried to introduce similar pink sheets numbers that gave Akufo Addo similarly unfair votes. NPP as we all know, oppose that introduction and successfully blocked it but did not disprove it. Against this true backdrop, you cannot say these isolated slips which seems like oversight occurring naturally from human work, gave anyone particular candidate an advantage. Where were your agents anyway? Were they sitting on a nearby throne as EXALTED OBSERVERS being fanned by surrounding angels with overhead halos?
CARDINAL 12 years ago

"Where were your agents anyway"

That is really brainy. The Agents did not complain because this was a sophisticated rigging strategy that nobody anticipated and trained for so we should let it go?

This is like telling t ...
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"Where were your agents anyway"

That is really brainy. The Agents did not complain because this was a sophisticated rigging strategy that nobody anticipated and trained for so we should let it go?

This is like telling the owner of a house he or she cannot retrieve their property because the watchman slept on the job. Do you see how ridiculous you sound?
Whatever 12 years ago

There are worst clerical errors that inured to the benefit of Akufo Addo. Why have you turn a deaf ear to that and not want votes wrongfully appropriated to him retrieved? Why are you not chastising the NPP for blocking its i ...
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There are worst clerical errors that inured to the benefit of Akufo Addo. Why have you turn a deaf ear to that and not want votes wrongfully appropriated to him retrieved? Why are you not chastising the NPP for blocking its introduction in court? He who preaches equity should come with clean hands. 113 to 713 is a clear clerical error which does not appear sophisticated at all and any one-eye person would see it. Your trusted agents gave it a pass because it was a collective oversight as in other cases that NDC suffered. '113' can be wrongly written as '713' if the brain thinks faster than the hands or misread as such if you're are not a critical reader. This flaw is common to every writer under massive pressure. Overall, such isolated non-discriminatory deviations never gave anyone an advantage. That is incontestable
John Anamse 12 years ago

If 10,000 is recorded instead of 1,000 and if 713 is recorded instead of 113, then you should go to court to ask for corrections of those errors.

You must not ask for all votes to be cancelled if such errors or fraud have ...
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If 10,000 is recorded instead of 1,000 and if 713 is recorded instead of 113, then you should go to court to ask for corrections of those errors.

You must not ask for all votes to be cancelled if such errors or fraud have been alleged. Why do you deny citizens of their votes because of such simple detectable errors

It amounts to cuting out your pound of flesh. But when you do cut out that pound of flesh then ensure that you do not spill out blood.
CARDINAL 12 years ago

John, the election was conducted on laid down rules that should be followed uniformally. We have a really record of six polling results cancelled because of over voting and voting without Biometrics verification whilst more t ...
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John, the election was conducted on laid down rules that should be followed uniformally. We have a really record of six polling results cancelled because of over voting and voting without Biometrics verification whilst more than 6000 of polling stations with similar problems were accepted and that is what NPP and Nana ADDO are saying. If the rules say that any polling station with irregularities should be discarded, then the law should be followed, that is all.

You cannot throw some votes away and accept others with the same problems.
John Anamse 12 years ago

Cardinal, I understand your explanation but please note that in that case the NPP agrument is a bit weak in the sense that the cancellation of the six polling stations could be held as illegal since the constitution upholds t ...
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Cardinal, I understand your explanation but please note that in that case the NPP agrument is a bit weak in the sense that the cancellation of the six polling stations could be held as illegal since the constitution upholds the sanctity of the right to vote. In that case NPP will have had a stronger case if they rather asked the court to nullify the cancellation of votes in the 6 polling stations instead of ask for all the six thousand polling station results to be cancelled.
It will rather be like the biblical request by the woman to have the King slash the baby into 2 halves
Kojo Opoku-London 12 years ago

Every Ghanaian has the democratic as well as the Constitutional right to challenge anything he or she deems unconstitutional and unfair/illegal. So the NPP has the right to challenge anything they see is wrong. First how can ...
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Every Ghanaian has the democratic as well as the Constitutional right to challenge anything he or she deems unconstitutional and unfair/illegal. So the NPP has the right to challenge anything they see is wrong. First how can there be OVER VOTING in a Constituency? Do you see it as wrong or right? All election counts in any Constituency must be signed and counter signed by the duly authorised personnel of the EC and other parties. If these principles are not adhered to, then there are irregularities. So what you are saying is, we should ignore these errors and let the election stand? No we are a growing democracy.We must learn to challenge our national institutions to do better and where mistakes were made, recommendations and action plan put in place to improve the systems. So please this is where we are. There are fault lines in our system and we need to upgrade and re-organise our supra state institutions to work better, if not best.
GOD BLESS GHANA

Frimpong Manso Dakabre 12 years ago

Eiii eye asemooo we have least thoutht about all these issues yet it is mind bogling.God saqve our dear nation

Eiii eye asemooo we have least thoutht about all these issues yet it is mind bogling.God saqve our dear nation
Barima Yaw 12 years ago

true

true
John Anamse 12 years ago

I find it difficult to believe that a partisan person can come out with a truly non-partisan suggestion.

Yes we need to ensure that the parties accept the decision of the supreme court and I think they have already committ ...
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I find it difficult to believe that a partisan person can come out with a truly non-partisan suggestion.

Yes we need to ensure that the parties accept the decision of the supreme court and I think they have already committed to that as they have no alternative.

It has become the line of thought of NPP activist in the last few weeks questioning what happens if a decision is taken by the SC. As defeat seems to be stirring them in the face, they are seeking face-saving measures. They should ask for assistance to manage the outcome of this defeat and that should be possible for others to assist them. They should not pretend that suddenly cmoplications have arisen as if they were serious thinking executives and if they had the nation at heart, they will have found other alternatives to sending such a hopeless case to court.

This is rather belated. Did NPP think of the consequences before going to court?

Could they have considered other alternatives as they are now faced with a very weak evidence in court, they are trying to seek talks as an alternative. Where was Arthur K. when his party took the decision to go to court. Why did he not advise them about these complications.
Yaw Amofa 12 years ago

Irrepairable damage already been done to this nation by this senseless petition. People keep saying it has deepened our democracy, which kind democracy? We are now only waiting for the spark! All the other incendiary ingredie ...
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Irrepairable damage already been done to this nation by this senseless petition. People keep saying it has deepened our democracy, which kind democracy? We are now only waiting for the spark! All the other incendiary ingredients are in place. We will live to forever regret this petition.
K. Sarpong, Selden, New York 12 years ago

I agree with what my compatriot Arthur
Kennedy said. I however, wish to add
that the powers of the electoral
commissioner should be curtailed and
future ones must have term limits.for
example you oversee two elections ...
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I agree with what my compatriot Arthur
Kennedy said. I however, wish to add
that the powers of the electoral
commissioner should be curtailed and
future ones must have term limits.for
example you oversee two elections and
you are replaced.Afari Gyan has been
there too long. This has led him to
believe he is more important than everybody else and can therefore ignore good advice. But for the wisdom
of Nana Akuffo-Addo,Ghana would be
headed for a civil war.
BOY KOFI 12 years ago

Many candidates have lost elections in Ghana and have never created civil war or violence whatsoever.I can call the names of Adu Boahen,Kuffour, Prof.Mills and so many presidential candidates.I don't see why some people are s ...
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Many candidates have lost elections in Ghana and have never created civil war or violence whatsoever.I can call the names of Adu Boahen,Kuffour, Prof.Mills and so many presidential candidates.I don't see why some people are saying that Nana Addo could have taken the law into his own hands and do whatever he likes.For what reason are you going to create violence because you could not win the elections?It's absurd to equate electoral defeat to violence.Nana Addo has created trouble for himself because he doesn't know how to withdraw his petition and also afraid to carry the silver medal of Judas,the first candidate to plunge Ghana into voilence.Even Rawlings did not plunge Ghana into violence like what Nana Addo is about doing.Mind you,International strategists have warned the world already that Nana Addo has the potential to distabilise Ghana and they were right.Ghana is nowhere near a civil war so Arthur Kobina Kennedy should tells his NPP supporters why they lost the 2008 and 2012 general elections instead of war mongering,it's very pathetic for a doctor of his calibre to write such unfounded thesis.Thank you.
Kojo Opoku-London 12 years ago

Well written piece and so I have no comment to make. GHANA NATIONAL INTEREST FIRST. I WANT PEACE IN GHANA AND I MEAN PEACE NO MATTER WHAT. NO INDIVIDUAL IS BIGGER THAN OUR COUNTRY GHANA. LONG LIVE GHANA AND MAY GOD BLESS GHAN ...
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Well written piece and so I have no comment to make. GHANA NATIONAL INTEREST FIRST. I WANT PEACE IN GHANA AND I MEAN PEACE NO MATTER WHAT. NO INDIVIDUAL IS BIGGER THAN OUR COUNTRY GHANA. LONG LIVE GHANA AND MAY GOD BLESS GHANA
amin 12 years ago

this is why the ruling party is trying by any means to blind the court and the general public because,give all out to the poor and come follow Jesus isn't easy for the rich ,i mean when power corrupts

this is why the ruling party is trying by any means to blind the court and the general public because,give all out to the poor and come follow Jesus isn't easy for the rich ,i mean when power corrupts
Angie Arthur(US) 12 years ago

we must face realities in order to move forward,it's about time to do what's right for our mother Ghana to shape the future for the youth, yet to be born,the evil that men do leaves after them,i mean it's obvious that the b/a ...
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we must face realities in order to move forward,it's about time to do what's right for our mother Ghana to shape the future for the youth, yet to be born,the evil that men do leaves after them,i mean it's obvious that the b/a guy caused the ongoing havoc so don't push the blame on anyone even a sixteen year old like me could see it. God has seen you Djan, truth hurts but it pays

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Ghana beyond the supreme court

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