MOSQUITO GRILLED TODAY

Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah (middle)

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday May 28, 2013.

General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah is expected to be subjected to stern test by counsel for the petitioners in the ongoing Presidential Election Petition at the Supreme Court.

General Mosquito as he is popularly known, mounted the dock for the first time last Thursday after the petitioners have closed their case and led in evidence by NDC lead counsel Tsatsu Tsikata, he made efforts to rationalize the issues that the petitioners have described as violations, irregularities and malpractices.

However, his examination in chief is most likely to be halted to enable the court to sort out outstanding and other emerging issues that have come to be associated with the petition.

Amicus Curiae

First, the court will have to hear a motion for review filed by a staunch member of the NDC Benoni Tonny Amekudzi, seeking to be ‘friend of the court’ in the ongoing petition and which was fixed for today.

Mr. Amekudzi, who is said to be a ‘returnee’ lawyer from America and expresses his NDC views at the least opportunity was first thrown out by the court on March 5, because his application to be friend of the court (Amicus Curiae) was not properly laid before it.

Pink Sheet Count

The court is also expected to hear a complaint by the NDC requesting to know from the petitioners the reasons why 11,842 pink sheets attached as exhibits jumped to 13,900.

This was after Daily Guide published the exclusive news that KPMG, the reputable international accounting firm chosen by all the parties to count the number of pink sheets used as exhibits, has found 13,900 pink sheets in the counting exercise.

They are currently working on the categorization of the exhibits and it is expected to take about additional one week.

Some legal experts are of the opinion that the NDC request is premature judging from the fact that the accounting firm is yet to submit its report to the court.

Additionally, the court has already ruled that complaint by any of the parties should be channeled to the independent referee (KPMG) who will then incorporate it in the report.

But for the abortive attempt by the NDC to halt the counting exercise, KPMG in the presence of two observers each from all the parties, would have advanced in the counting.

NDC lead counsel Mr. Tsikata, whose client entered into the petition by way of a joinder had come to the court last week virtually indicting the integrity of the Supreme Court Registry with a story that the exhibits in the court’s custody had been compromised and that the boxes containing the pink sheets had increased from 24 to 31.

He even suggested that once there was ‘criminalities’ involved, they would prefer an extended control mechanism whereby copies served on chairman of the nine-member panel and other two judges would be used to compare with the pink sheets in the court’s registry.

Over-voting Definition

In his evidence-in-chief, General Mosquito vehemently denied that over-voting as claimed by the petitioner ever occurred in the December 7 and 8, 2012 general election.

According to him, over-voting is defined as when the number of ballot papers in the ballot box is more than the number of registered voters at a particular polling station.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the 2^nd respondent who was the principal witness testified that over-voting occurs when the number of ballot papers in the ballot box are more than the number of ballot papers issued at a particular polling station.

Indeed, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission on in the run up to December 7, 2012 warned that if a single ballot is found to have exceeded the number of ballot issued, the results of that polling station will be cancelled.

Serial Numbers

In cross-examining Dr. Bawumia, the NDC counsel severally put it to him that pink sheets and serial numbers were not primary documents for the election and that the register and others were.

Mr. Asiedu-Nketiah affirmed his counsel’s position by insisting that polling stations are identified by their names and codes.

He also accused the petitioners of changing their stories since they filed the process in court and also said all the parties were involved by the EC in the printing, distribution and tracking of ballot papers and all other election materials.