Nana Konadu’ goof

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Dziko Kwame 12 years ago

Efo Mathias

You wrote: ..."If Nana Konadu is still confused after reading this piece, she can contact me at mdorfe@hotmail.com..."

It appears as if you have absolutely nothing profitable doing, hence the only thing tha ...
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Efo Mathias

You wrote: ..."If Nana Konadu is still confused after reading this piece, she can contact me at mdorfe@hotmail.com..."

It appears as if you have absolutely nothing profitable doing, hence the only thing that can get you busy is to try to put some words together to attract some undeserved attention.

I will be glad to speak to you on your topic, but that will depend on "knowing who you are..". By saying who you are, I do not need your hometown or your picture.

But rightly as Dr Authur Kennedy wrote to Gabby Okyere Darko (?): PEOPLE WHO SEE POLITICS AS THEIR FULL-TIME BUSINESS ARE A DANGER TO THE SOCIETY. Hence my response will be to your background/carrer goals, if not your occupation.

I am traceable on Ghanaweb, when you read back from 1998 till the present day.

Long live the Akatamanso, Long live the ideals of the REVO, Long live GHANA.
BUMBEBO London 12 years ago

Asem beba dabi! Are you saying that you are one of those who would never let sleeping dogs sleep but wake up and bark, even at their shadows? Get something doing. I shall prefer you be a statesman like me, thinking ahead - in ...
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Asem beba dabi! Are you saying that you are one of those who would never let sleeping dogs sleep but wake up and bark, even at their shadows? Get something doing. I shall prefer you be a statesman like me, thinking ahead - in generations to come; and not a politician who could be likened to a hiker on akpeteshie, sorry but that is what l want to say, anyway.
Mathias 12 years ago

I am not a politician. I am an ordinary Ghanaian worker who toil like many of our brethren do, to put food on my family's table. I would like to see a higher level of decency in the politics of this nation and I like sharing ...
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I am not a politician. I am an ordinary Ghanaian worker who toil like many of our brethren do, to put food on my family's table. I would like to see a higher level of decency in the politics of this nation and I like sharing my thoughts on sensitive political matters. Mr. Dziko, I would very much like you to engage me on whatever subject that is in the interest of Ghana.
Crusader 12 years ago

Great write up Mathias, and an equally wonderful comment by Paul. In fact, the issue of numbers of votes affected by the so called 'violations, malpractices, and irregularities' if that's what the administrative lapses amount ...
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Great write up Mathias, and an equally wonderful comment by Paul. In fact, the issue of numbers of votes affected by the so called 'violations, malpractices, and irregularities' if that's what the administrative lapses amounted to, could have been easily determined by the justices in their verdicts.
By the way, has anyone contemplated the role of the Ghana Education Service in the whole pink sheets mess when it refused to allow TEACHERS serve as temporary election workers during the last elections? Thereby leaving the exercise in the hands of half baked presiding officers; who then created the mess? You bet the Director General is still at post!
Do we intend to look at the root causes of the 2012 election difficulties anyway?
KOLA, LONDON PROPER 12 years ago

It was proven that registered voters have the right of vote whether BVM or not as far as they voted.

Stop repeating this confusion which has already been clarified in cross examination.

It was proven that registered voters have the right of vote whether BVM or not as far as they voted.

Stop repeating this confusion which has already been clarified in cross examination.
Ama 12 years ago

According to some SC judges, there could be a 10,000 percent voter turn out at a polling station and once the votes are counted and a winner is declared, the sins of the over votes cannot be visited on the genuine once and t ...
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According to some SC judges, there could be a 10,000 percent voter turn out at a polling station and once the votes are counted and a winner is declared, the sins of the over votes cannot be visited on the genuine once and the winner of the elections, but can go against the loser because he allowed the over votes to occur. This is now the new law in Ghana and Nana Konadu wants an explanation for this. if you set a deceptive trap in your home, you or your close associate may one day become a victim of this trap. The SC court has set a very bad precedence with their interpretation of the electoral laws. "na who cause am".
Mathias 12 years ago

None of the Supreme Court judges have endorsed over-voting. I implore you to read Justice Dotse's ruling on over-voting. If over-voting occurs and it is proven, the votes shall be annulled. The judges are simply saying that t ...
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None of the Supreme Court judges have endorsed over-voting. I implore you to read Justice Dotse's ruling on over-voting. If over-voting occurs and it is proven, the votes shall be annulled. The judges are simply saying that the pink sheet records do NOT constitute sufficient proof that there was over-voting. All the judges are against over-voting in much the same way as you and I are
SGT ANANI FIADZOE 12 years ago

Ashanti girls are beautiful, great in bed and cook wonderful. But to be lured into marrying them! You will be finished. All the evil deeds of Ashantis is engineered by their wives. Just ask JJ. Can you imagine how great JJ w ...
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Ashanti girls are beautiful, great in bed and cook wonderful. But to be lured into marrying them! You will be finished. All the evil deeds of Ashantis is engineered by their wives. Just ask JJ. Can you imagine how great JJ would have been had he not married this Ashanti witch?

Without exception, many men have fallen into the trap and are totally ruined for life. Any man wanting a wife should avoid these temptresses like the plague.
corrupt mahama juju killed mills,ei 12 years ago

GREAT AND POWERFUL WISE WOMAN,GOOD JOB AND WELLSAID,PERIOD

GREAT AND POWERFUL WISE WOMAN,GOOD JOB AND WELLSAID,PERIOD
nana kpokproku 12 years ago

you yourselt is confused the more

you yourselt is confused the more

CNN 12 years ago

"Alfa and Omega" indeed!

"Alfa and Omega" indeed!
Ex-Ayigbe 12 years ago

MATHIAS,YOUR PIECE SOUNDS VALID IN SOME WAYS
BUT I GUESS EVEN THE JUDGES COULD NOT GIVE
THE VERDICT BY LEGAL MEANS BUT PURELY ON OPINIONS AND ATUGUBA'S WAS THE WORSE.

MATHIAS,YOUR PIECE SOUNDS VALID IN SOME WAYS
BUT I GUESS EVEN THE JUDGES COULD NOT GIVE
THE VERDICT BY LEGAL MEANS BUT PURELY ON OPINIONS AND ATUGUBA'S WAS THE WORSE.
Kwesi Agbenu 12 years ago

''The lawyers on both sides either through sheer incompetence, inadvertence or by dint of manipulative hypocrisy, failed to use the available supporting sources of primary information to prove the validity or otherwise of thi ...
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''The lawyers on both sides either through sheer incompetence, inadvertence or by dint of manipulative hypocrisy, failed to use the available supporting sources of primary information to prove the validity or otherwise of this claim. Its dismissal by the majority of the judges is premised on their view that the petitioners did not adequately discharge their burden of proof regarding this matter.----'' From the quote, it is unfair to blame the petitioners. All available supporting evidence were in the custody of EC---the voters register, the data in the Biometric verification machines etc. There was no way petitioners could have gone beyond the pink sheets evidence, which was the only available evidence to them. The court should have compelled the EC to bring them , which they did not. And the EC itself was not interested. On the whole, poaterity will never be kind to Atuguba court which just set out to suppress evidence
Brother 12 years ago

Mr. Agbenu, please lets don't pretend that, the case was ECs case. The petitioners could have requested them. It is their case and who will want to prosecute your case for you. Can people just go beyond this ruling since we a ...
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Mr. Agbenu, please lets don't pretend that, the case was ECs case. The petitioners could have requested them. It is their case and who will want to prosecute your case for you. Can people just go beyond this ruling since we all know that, elections are won at polling stations. Check world wide.
Papa Yaw 12 years ago

How

How
Cantankerous 12 years ago

Nana Akuffo Addo is having a break at whose expense? The man has already presided over a massive waste of the party's money by embarking on a foolish litigation that even the dogs in the street could see would only end in hu ...
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Nana Akuffo Addo is having a break at whose expense? The man has already presided over a massive waste of the party's money by embarking on a foolish litigation that even the dogs in the street could see would only end in humiliating failure. It is now time to move on.If the NPP is to stand any chance of successfully challenging the ruling NDC then radical and far reaching reorganization is called for. Greater accountability by the leadership and transparent meritocracy will need to be built into the party's infrastructure. The self-destructive "Akans only" image of the NPP is fatal and needs to be shed swiftly. No uni-tribal party will ever win an election in Ghana . That is a fact and the sooner the opinion leaders of the party realize this the better it will be for the NPP. As things stand right now the party is going into the 2016 elections severely weakened unless there is a drastic overhaul of the party's existing strategy.
Paul Amuna 12 years ago

Mathias, yours is a beautiful piece which is neutral, factual and informative. I hope readers would appreciate that. Here are my own views on the issues:

1. Nana Konadu's actions in respect of the outcome of the petition a ...
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Mathias, yours is a beautiful piece which is neutral, factual and informative. I hope readers would appreciate that. Here are my own views on the issues:

1. Nana Konadu's actions in respect of the outcome of the petition and the ruling was a bizarre act whose basis is still beyond me. You have sought to explain to her (and others like her) the fundamental issues at the core of this petition which (as expected) failed.

I am among those (like you) who have consistently argued WHY the petitioners chose not to talk about VOTES ACTUALLY CAST and to seek to RECONCILE the information on the pink sheets with the VOTER REGISTER and BIOMETRIC MACHINE DATA. That commonsense approach would have answered most (if not all) their questions and probably would have made the petition (and the costly 8 months) unnecessary.

You pose the question why the "petitioners' lawyers and the respondents chose not to call into the case" the above "primary sources". If you would recall, it was ONLY the EC who sought to introduce the biometric data and voter register data during evidence by Dr Afari Gyan, to demonstrate the links between these, how they relate to the pink sheets, and to once and for all 'prove their case' that indeed nothing untoward occurred during the voting process and that whatever errors occurred (which they had copiously admitted) were administrative but nonetheless had NO MATERIAL EFFECT on the voting, authenticity of the votes cast and the outcome of the polls at all the polling station at play.

That issue was STRONGLY OPPOSED by the petition lawyers, leading to a vote by the supreme justices in a 6:3 ruling against the EC administering that to buttress their arguments!!! I was shocked, appalled and argued strongly against the SC ruling on that matter at the time and thought it was a wrong ruling on their part. I also argued at the time that this would come back to haunt the petitioners, which it did eventually, although they may not admit it.

2. Here is the issue: the verification process has several elements to it, and if we were to use your own analogy of "substance" (i.e. the spirit of the law) and "form" (i.e. the letter of the law) in this case, and to seek to examine whether these various elements of verification have 'EQUAL WEIGHTING' or otherwise, it seems to me a lot of weight was put on the biometric aspect, and in my view, rightly so EXCEPT, biometric verification includes finger printing, facial and iris recognition, and I am yet to read or hear that any individual FAILED in ALL THREE ASPECTS of biometric verification.

3. All that said, I am one of those who have wondered why some of the justices voted in support of even this aspect of the petitioners' case but you have helped me to appreciate their vote in as much as you have so eloquently argued on the issue of "FORM" rather than substance, and being human, I accept their choice of same.

Ultimately, what we wish to see is that the constitution of Ghana is upheld and that no dangerous precedents are set that would undermine both the SPIRIT and LETTER of that constitution and create a mine field for electoral litigation in the future.

The ruling in the end gives reassurance to the voting population and the people of Ghana in general, that indeed SUBSTANCE is more important than form and that the exercise of UNIVERSAL FRANCHISE an an INALIENABLE RIGHT has to supersede any technicalities regarding our elections and electoral law.

As for Nana Konadu, it is a pity that she has not taken a leaf out of the book of Hilary Clinton who seems to be her role model. Clinton first stood for, and won the Senate seat for her patch of New York and actually went in as a politician in her own right and performed in the Senate. She then took on Barack Obama in a failed attempt to win the primaries on the Democratic ticket for president.

Then having lost (bitterly), chose to support him win election and subsequently served in his cabinet in one of the highest positions in government. Indeed her husband Bill Clinton atoned for his own 'sins' by making a significant impact on Obama's re-election. That is what true politicians actually do.

Sadly for Nana Konadu after the mess she created for herself in the NDC party, she chose to 'split the vote' in the hope that the NDC would lose, and hoping that Nana Akufo Addo's government (were that to emerge) would favour her.

She gambled and lost, and has made further fool of herself. It goes to show her naivety, lack of political maturity and her false assumption, that just because her husband, former president Rawlings provided her the platform with massive state resources to run the 31st December Women's movement, she somehow had become a politician of stature. The truth is completely different and instead of standing for parliament and forging her own political path, she will see that as 'beneath her', knowing her character (spirit) and person (form).

I still wonder what her visit to Nana Addo was supposed to be about (apart from commiserating with him), and what she hoped to achieve by that very open and singular act. It is that which rather CONFUSES ME, not the supreme court verdict.
william 12 years ago

good analysis and good back-up comment.

good analysis and good back-up comment.
Clarence Hedzolleh 12 years ago

Fantastic! Matias, then Paul!!! I'm lost for words. I'll just say a big well done to you and hope that you would remain as thoughtful as you are in every analysis you do. Your kind is quite rare in Ghana today where everythi ...
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Fantastic! Matias, then Paul!!! I'm lost for words. I'll just say a big well done to you and hope that you would remain as thoughtful as you are in every analysis you do. Your kind is quite rare in Ghana today where everything is seen through a myopic, hypocritical, sectional and illusory lens. Maintain your level-headedness. Cheers!!!
Mallam Kankane 12 years ago

Those forumers who are attacking Marthias should bow their heads in shame. This is one of the best and by far the most objective analysis/dissection of the judgement . Put this piece with Paul Amunas comment and you get a cle ...
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Those forumers who are attacking Marthias should bow their heads in shame. This is one of the best and by far the most objective analysis/dissection of the judgement . Put this piece with Paul Amunas comment and you get a clear understanding of what actually went wrong with the petitioners claim and why the Justices voted the way the did. Please fellow Kukrudians let us be objective and tolerant with others views if even they are 'bitter'. Marthias you should heve been a lawyer. Keep on with your objective analysis and don't be discouraged by the PHDs in this forum. It is good we learn from each other. Weel done my brother.

Kwasi Amoah 12 years ago

Elections are won at the POLLING STATIONS but not on the so-called Pink Sheets.What the NPP did still baffles me.You see all the Voting Papers with our thumb prints embossed on them are still in the ballot boxes.

What we a ...
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Elections are won at the POLLING STATIONS but not on the so-called Pink Sheets.What the NPP did still baffles me.You see all the Voting Papers with our thumb prints embossed on them are still in the ballot boxes.

What we all wanted is the truth: Who won the 2012 elections.President Mahama or Nana Akufo Addo. Before the end of the Petition at the Supreme Court, I had always anticipated a 9-0 ruling in favour of the Respondents.I had said that I would like to read the ruling of any dissenting Judge.I wholly agree with the Vice President who said he expected a 9-0 ruling. You see this matter could have been easily resolved by CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS. KPMG or any ACCOUNTING FIRM could easily have resolved this issue if the Supreme Court had requested Accountants to conduct an audit into the election processes and submit a report.This could have been accomplished within 30 days with recommendations.

The most annoying thing that I also hear is REFORMS. What reforms? I am a Chartered Accountant and also took part in the voting process right from the REGISTRATION POINT. All the processes had very effective controls embedded in them up to the point of the counting and the declaration of the results by the Presiding Officers and found no weakness in the processes.The system of internal control was splendid and working perfectly.So what sort of reforms are they suggesting?. I would rather recommend that the Ballot Reconciliation Section i.e A1, B1 C3 etc,etc. should not be part of the records at the Polling Station, but used by the EC for their own internal purposes

This would be in conformity with Article 49 (3) of the Constitution.
xxxxxxxxxxx the parties contesting or their agents and the polling agents if any, shall then sign a declaration stating
(a) The Polling station; and
(b) the number of votes cast in favour of each candidate or question; xxxxxxxxxxxxx.

It is clear from the above that we only need a record showing the particular polling station's name and code and also number of votes cast in favour of each cndidate. Simpliciter!

Why then do we want to complicate matters thus opening doors for unnecessary litigation after the elections are over.

This is exactly what the NPP did: First file a Petition at the Supreme Court and scrutinize the Pink Sheets for any administrative lapses by the Presiding Officers as evidence!Why the NPP did not request for the opening of the ballot boxes for a re-count still beats my imagination.What they did was indeed fraudulent and robbery.

Nana Akufo Addo to be a President through the 'Back Door". Could he had occupied the presidency if he was so declared by the Justices? Annulling 4million votes before becoming a President. Ridiculous! Has the NPP ever heard of this in the history of our country or any other civilized country for that matter? A complete joke and indeed they are 'Jaguar Jokers'
Paul Amuna 12 years ago

Indeed, to me any "reforms" have to be PROCEDURAL to check and cross-check the steps along the way and the procedures involved including data entry, responsibilities thereof and what data to capture on the relevant forms.

...
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Indeed, to me any "reforms" have to be PROCEDURAL to check and cross-check the steps along the way and the procedures involved including data entry, responsibilities thereof and what data to capture on the relevant forms.

It seems to me the Ghana electoral system is even more robust than what we have in the United Kingdom, and is being adopted by other countries. We not let's improve the administrative processes instead of this silly and ridiculous call for "reforms" What reforms if I may ask?

If anything, the constitutional instruments are the aspects that are flawed in their wording and that is what I would like to see re-examined for clarity and to remove all forms of ambiguity or loopholes for 'cheats' to seek litigation.
Dusseldorf 12 years ago

WE ARE SICK AND TIRED OF THIS NONSENSE:
GHANA IS THERE BEFORE THIS THIEVES ENGAGE INTO POLITICS AND WILL BE THERE AFTER THIS BASTARDS: TO HELL:

WE ARE SICK AND TIRED OF THIS NONSENSE:
GHANA IS THERE BEFORE THIS THIEVES ENGAGE INTO POLITICS AND WILL BE THERE AFTER THIS BASTARDS: TO HELL:
SAVVY 12 years ago

HEY THANKS FOR MAKING MY DAY,MATHIAS YOU ALONE SHOULD BE HERE TO EDUCATE THE VIBRANT YOUTH IN THIS COUNTRY ABOUT THE HYPOCRISY AND SHAMELESS THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN GHANA,GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND GHANA.

HEY THANKS FOR MAKING MY DAY,MATHIAS YOU ALONE SHOULD BE HERE TO EDUCATE THE VIBRANT YOUTH IN THIS COUNTRY ABOUT THE HYPOCRISY AND SHAMELESS THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN GHANA,GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND GHANA.
kanawu 12 years ago

Remember that the said source documents were in the custody of respondent -EC. How could you trust that the source documents had not been tainted by EC and its agents. Go figure Mr. Mathias.

Remember that the said source documents were in the custody of respondent -EC. How could you trust that the source documents had not been tainted by EC and its agents. Go figure Mr. Mathias.
pp 12 years ago

oo

oo
Kwobia,Toronto 12 years ago

NPP was afraid of the truth.Hence,their lawyers relied solely on the pink sheets which was their undoing.

NPP was afraid of the truth.Hence,their lawyers relied solely on the pink sheets which was their undoing.
Joe 12 years ago

Another Ewe fool

Another Ewe fool
Mathias 12 years ago

Joe, I may be an Ewe fool but that will not stop me from educating Ghanaians on my little understanding of events and situations in Ghana. Have a wonderful day

Joe, I may be an Ewe fool but that will not stop me from educating Ghanaians on my little understanding of events and situations in Ghana. Have a wonderful day
Ama 12 years ago

According to some of the SC judges,verification before voting is not important in any election. once the votes enters the box and they are counted and recorded erroneously it counts. so note, all subsequent elections in Ghana ...
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According to some of the SC judges,verification before voting is not important in any election. once the votes enters the box and they are counted and recorded erroneously it counts. so note, all subsequent elections in Ghana will not be governed by any prior verification process, we can all vote as many times as we want. Nana Konadu wants an explanation for this, that's all Mr Dorfe.

Mathias 12 years ago

My Dear Ama, no judge has said that verification is not important. All the judges will annul the votes if it is proven that there was indeed voting without verification. The pink sheets are the sources of the allegation of no ...
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My Dear Ama, no judge has said that verification is not important. All the judges will annul the votes if it is proven that there was indeed voting without verification. The pink sheets are the sources of the allegation of no verification but they are not the sources of proof that there was indeed voting without verification. The Supreme Court decision is premised on the view of the majority of the judges that the allegation was not proven to their satisfaction. It it had been proven,I bet you they would have annulled the votes. That is the point I would very much like you to appreciate

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Nana Konadu’ goof

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