COURT DECIDES NDC FATE

Nana Ato Dadzie (above) and Gloria Akuffo (below) speak for the NDC and NPP respectively

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday January 22, 2013.

The Supreme Court will today determine whether or not the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) should be joined in the landmark petition filed by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) which is challenging the validity of the just-ended general elections which the Electoral Commission (EC) said President John Dramani Mahama won.

The court is to rule whether NDC application to join the case should be upheld or thrown out.

The landmark case has attracted attention of almost every Ghanaian, as well as the international community who see the handling of the case by the court as a critical test for Ghana’s fledgling democracy.

Today’s decision will finally pave way for the court to investigate whether the EC validly declared Mr. Mahama as President-elect in the December 7 and 8 general elections.

President Mahama who benefited from the EC’s declaration has since been sworn into office and is currently busily selecting his appointees to work with, at least, in the next four years.

Some legal experts have said that whether the NDC is allowed to join as respondent to the petition or not would not add or subtract anything from the substantive issues before the highest court of the land.

Others are also of the view that the NDC is seeking to join as respondent just to delay the trial because President Mahama is already sworn in but the party has since denied this assertion.

The hearing of the petition delayed because of objection raised by the NPP legal team on the composition of the nine-member panel chaired by Justice William Atuguba to hear the NDC’s application for joinder.

The case was put to rest when the NPP rescinded its objection.

The court action was initiated on December 28, 2012 by the NPP presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his running mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the party’s Chairman Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey as the petitioners.

President Mahama, in his personal capacity as presidential candidate of the NDC and the EC, the body that supervised the December general elections have been cited as respondents in the case.

The Petitioners are praying the court to declare that “John Dramani Mahama was not validly elected president of the Republic of Ghana.”

They also want the court to declare that “Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the 1st Petitioner herein, rather was validly elected President of the Republic of Ghana,” as well as “Consequential orders as to this court may deem fit.”

The petitioners said Nana Akufo-Addo’s votes were unlawfully reduced while President Mahama’s were illegally padded.

They said the irregularities were deliberate, well calculated and executed between John Mahama and the EC, leading to illegal votes of 1,342,845.

Apart from Justice Atuguba, the other panel members hearing the NDC application for joinder included Justices Julius Ansah, Sophia O. Adinyira, Rose C. Owusu, Jones Victor Dotse, Anin-Yeboah, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Sule N. Gbadegbe and Vida Akoto-Bamfo.

Police Warning

In a related development, the Greater Accra Regional Police Command has warned the public not to attempt to come to the court’s premises with offensive weapons including canes.

The ruling party’s supporters were bussed to the court at the last sitting where they whipped perceived opposition supporter in the full glare of the police.

They looked unconcerned and were criticized for their inaction but they have vowed to deal with perpetrators this time around.

Greater Accra Police Public Relations Officer DSP Freeman Tettey assured the public on Joy FM that “what happened the other day will not reoccur” and that the police will extend their security coverage within and around the courts. 

“Anybody, any group of persons who might gather there must be questioned and if possible no gathering (there),” so that people can use the road smoothly, he added.

“Anybody who wields a cane or any offensive weapon will be arrested immediately, because we are not going to renege on our commitment to ensure that there is total security in the area.”