EC BOSS GRILLED ON MULTIPLE SERIAL NUMBERS

Nana Akufo-Addo & Dr. Bawumia

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, July 12, 2013

Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission yesterday admitted that some polling stations shared the same Code Number in the disputed December 2012 presidential election.

This is contrary to his evidence-in-chief that Code Numbers were unique to every polling station and insisted that two polling stations could never share one Code.

Furthermore, in his quest to discredit the petitioners’ allegation that same serial numbers were used in the election, he said the only way anybody could locate a polling station was by the code or its name.

Continuing his cross-examination in the ongoing Presidential Election Petition at the Supreme Court, Dr. Afari-Gyan offered to explain the reasons for some polling stations sharing the same code numbers.

When supplied by Philip Addison, lead counsel for the petitioners, with a number of paired pink sheets sharing same code numbers, the elections administrator told the court that one pink sheet in each pair in that instance, was used for Special Voting.

Interestingly, he has already told the court that results for Special Voting are recorded directly unto a Collation Form at the Collation Centre on election day.

However, he has also vehemently disagreed with Mr. Addison over whether or not Special Voting results are recorded on pink sheets and has insisted that once Special Voting is a ‘normal election activity’, they have pink sheets.

When the issue came up again yesterday and the paired pink sheets, where in each instance, shared same code were given to Dr. Afari-Gyan, he could not tell the court which in each of the two was used for special voting.

Even in instances where the polling station names were different on the pink sheet but shared the same code, the EC boss insisted one of them was used for special voting but could not tell the court which ones they were.

He conceded however that each polling station has its own unique serial number.

Mr Addison: Dr Afari-Gyan how many pink sheets do you have?

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords 16 pink sheets that make it 8 pairs.

Mr Addison: Can we start with the first on the list?

Dr Afari-Gyan: The first on the list is polling station code H201103A polling station name Kamina Primary School AA exhibit number MBB000007. The second one, the polling station code H201103A polling station name Kamina Primary School A. Exhibit number MBV 000006

Mr Addison:  Can you confirm that these 2 pink sheets have the same polling station codes?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes my Lords I can confirm but there are 2 distinct stations. One was use for the main election, the other of the earlier election that is earlier or special voting 

 Asiedu-Nketiah

Mr Addison: Which one was used for the special voting?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Well I cannot tell off hand but I know for a fact

Mr Addison: I’m suggesting to you that this is just a conjecture on your part. On the face of these pink sheets, is there anything written indicating that it is for special voting?

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords I don’t see anything to that effect on the face of the pink sheet but I know for a fact one was used for special voting

Justice Rose Owusu: If my memory serves me right I think you said the special voting pink sheet has a letter there.

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords I have not said that. I said if the same polling station is used for the special voting and at the same time used later for the normal voting, it will have the same polling station code.

Mr Addison: Special voting do not have polling station codes

Dr Afari-Gyan: We have said that special voting is treated as a polling station activity and if the place is already not a polling station 

Mr Addison: Special voting do not have polling station

Dr Afari-Gyan: If they take place at a polling station, they will have a polling station code 

Mr Addison: And on the face of these exhibits, there is nothing which show that there was special voting?

Dr Afari-Gyan: No but if we look on the collation form, which was the special voting and which was not.

Mr Addison: On the collation form, the results are entered using polling station codes so how was the returning officer going to determine which one was the special vote?

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords the requirement is that the special voting results will be entered first on the collation sheet

Mr Addison: Pink sheets are not used for special voting. There is nowhere either in your manual or under the law that there is a requirement that pink sheets should be used for special voting

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords I have said here several times that pink sheets are requirements for special voting 

Mr Addison: Under which law?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Because the special voting is treated as a polling station activity

Mr Addison: Because you treat it as such?

Dr Afari-Gyan: We do

Mr Addison: Who are the we

Dr Afari-Gyan: The electoral commission

Mr Addison: Let’s go on to the next one, number 5 and 6

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords number 5, the polling station code is B153103, the polling station name is D/A Primary Atintan and the exhibit number is MBV 11. Number 6 the polling station code is the same and the polling station name is D\A Primary School Ghana Camp and the exhibit number is MBV 10

Mr Addison: Now these two have the same polling station code. Is it the same polling station?

Dr. Bawumia

Dr Afari-Gyan: One will be the special voting and the other for the main voting

Mr Addison: Are the polling station name the same?

Dr Afari-Gyan: No

Mr Addison: So we are looking at two different polling stations having the same polling station code

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords we are looking at a situation where in the same area, the same polling station code was used for the early voting (special voting) and normal voting took place on the election day. The Next one is number 9, the polling station code is H010102 and the polling station name is District Office and the exhibit number is MBP 000001 and number 10, they are the same polling station number and the polling station name, District Office exhibit number MVT 555552

Mr Addison: Is the District Office a polling station?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes my Lord it is a polling station

Mr Addison: And you are saying that 1 of them is special voting

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes my Lords

Mr Addison: Which one of them is special voting?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Once again, I cannot tell off hand

Mr Addison: Let’s go to the next one

Dr Afari-Gyan: The next one is 13 and it is A012702, Mining Dawn ICT Centre Mpataba and the exhibit number is MBX 000003. The next one is 14 and the polling station code is the same and the polling station name is Mpataba Community Center

Mr Addison: Are the polling stations the same?

Dr Afari-Gyan: No they are not

Mr Addison: But they have the same polling station code?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yeah

Mr Addison: Good, let’s move on to the next one

Dr Afari-Gyan: Number 15, the polling station code is H180403 and the name is Canteen Savalugu the exhibit number MBV000002 , 16 has the same polling station code H180403 and the polling station name is D/A Primary School Kpalan and the code is MBV000003

Mr Addison: Here again the polling station names are different but they share the same polling station code is that not the case?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes

Mr Addison: I thought that all along you have been saying that if it is special voting, it will be the same polling station, now we have a situation which there are two different polling stations sharing the same polling station codes. It is there on the face of the pink sheet

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes they are different names

Yaw Boateng Gyan (left) and some NDC gurus

Mr Addison: Good. So your explanation early on that special voting takes place at the same polling station cannot be correct

Dr Afari-Gyan: I have not ask special voting takes place at the same polling station, I said if it takes place at the same polling station it retains the same polling station number

Mr Addison: I see so in this case we have two different polling stations sharing the same polling station codes

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes the same polling station number, two different polling station names

Mr Addison: Good, let us move on to the next one

Dr Afari-Gyan: Number 17 the polling station code is J031203 and the polling station name is Adda Primary School A and the exhibit number is MBV 000008. The next one 18 is J031203 and the polling station name is Balobia JHS B and the exhibit number is MBV 000009

Mr Addison: Here again, we have 2 polling stations sharing the same polling station code

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes

Mr Addison: Lets go on to the next one

Dr Afari-Gyan: 19, the polling station code is J072005 And the polling station name is given as Bulbog and the exhibit number is MBV 000010. Number 20 you have the same polling station code but the polling station name is Bulbog market B and the exhibit number MBV 000011

Mr Addison: These are also two polling stations sharing the same polling station codes

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes

Mr Addison: Lets go on to the next one

Dr Afari-Gyan: The last one 25 J050702B and the polling station name is Nurul Islam Primary B and the exhibit number is MBAA00002 and number 22 has the same polling station code J050702B and the polling station name is Aningazanga JHS and the exhibit number is MBAA000003

Mr Addison: Here again we have two different polling station sharing the same polling station code

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes

Same Serial Number in Quadruples

Even before the Same Serial Numbers questions started coming to Dr. Afari-Gyan, all the respondents’ legal teams started complaining about the lists that are used to track the pink sheets.

James Quarshie-Idun, lead counsel for the EC fired the first salvo when he said they received a list 1,823 pink sheets only “last night,” and needed to time to do the cross-checking.

Cecilia Abena Dapaah & Oboshie Sai Coffie

“Last night the list of 1,823 out of this list, they were all paired but some were described as triplicates. In he time available, we have been able to check 10 and they are not triplicates so subject to that, we have informed Mr Addison of this, we will not have any objection to the proceeding because we will be able to address your Lordship on this so that this does not cause a delay,” he said.

Tsatsu Tsikata, representing the NDC said that even if the pairings done by the petitioners to prove same serial numbers on pink sheets were correct, “we will still go by our evidence that the serial numbers were generated by the printers and not the 2^nd respondent.”

“We also received it last night and we noted that some had been shaded to indicate this triplicates so we really were only able to focus on that as a sample and we also confirm that 10 of those that were in that shaded category as triplicates were not triplicates, however, we take the view respectfully that even if all the pairings were correct, we would still go by the evidence before the court that serial numbers were generated by printers, they have nothing to do with the EC and therefore in our respectful view, in the interest of substantial justice that does not compromise expedition of this trail  we would not object to the list being put in by the petitioners and we would reserve the rights in our address to point out where errors have been made even in the way they have been  listed because the pink sheets are available in the court and we will have access to them and we will be able to make a note of that  but we really do not think that that process should be able to delay the court because we will be able to have the chance to address on it because.

“I may ask that this is quite different from the situation during my cross examination because during my cross examination, we did not have any indication of what this duplication was and that is why I had to ask the witness to provide information about that. In this list that they have provided 75 pages, they have actually given the details of where they allege there was duplication, they have even gone to show another thing that we tried to cross examine on which is where other series also have the same exhibits so we are quiet content to go with this list 

Dr. Abdul Bassit Aziz Bamba, representing President Mahama in the absence of Tony Lithur also associated himself with Mr. Tsikata’s argument.

Addison Persists

Mr. Addison then showed Dr. Afari-Gyan pairs of polling stations that are in the KPMG report in the custody of the registry which have duplicate or triplicate or even quadruple serial numbers.

Mr Addison: Dr Afari-Gyan take a look at this document. What document do you have in your hand?

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords, the document is titled pairs of polling stations in KPMG report, registerer’s set with duplicate serial numbers.

Mr Addison: Can you tell the court how many pairs there are in the list.

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords as indicated by the last number I see is 1,823

Mr. Addison after getting the EC Boss to admit the issues then tendered evidence through the list through the witness.

Mr Addison: Dr Afari-Gyan can you tell the court what you have in your hand?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Well I have a list with the title pairs of serial numbers appearing more than once then I have also 5 pairs of clipped pink sheets.

Balado Manu & Prof. Mike Ocquaye

Mr Addison: If you look at the list number 1 has sheet number 17 30 and it has 3 polling stations having the same serial numbers. Is that right?

Dr Afari-Gyan: From the sheet yes

Mr Addison: Now can you have a look at the first set of pink sheets and tell the court if it corresponds to the list number 1?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes my Lords it does

Mr Addison: Can you now tell us exactly what pink sheets you are holding for number 1

Dr Afari-Gyan: For number one, the poling station code is 141004A and the polling station name is Keef Belo Islamic school , Zenu A

Mr Addison: Yes the second sheet

Dr Afari-Gyan: Second sheet, code number C141102A  Apostolic Revelation Kakasunaga number 1 A. The exhibit number is MBP3238. For the first one, the exhibit number is MBP 3246

Mr Addison:  Can we go on to the third pink sheet

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords the third sheet polling station code C140602 and the polling station name is Baptist Chruch Adigon and the exhibit number is MBQ 171

Mr Addison:  Can you confirm if all three pink sheets have the same serial numbers

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes my Lords, the serial numbers on all three of them 0025195.

Mr Addison:  Can we go to the next on the list

Dr Afari-Gyan: Polling station code is A251103 and the polling name is DC JHS Pampramase and the exhibit number is MBP006870. The next station, polling station number A250908 and the polling station name is DC Primary Adienkyee and the exhibit number is  MBP 006869. The third sheet polling station code A250907  and the polling station name is PBC Cocoa Shed Ntensera and the exhibit number is MBQ 000858

Mr Addison: All three pink sheets have the same serial numbers ?

Dr Afari-Gyan: the serial number on all three of them is 0018708

Controversial Extract

Mr. Addison asked Dr. Afari-Gyan if he was able cross-check the extract of a polling station at Mampong and whether he was satisfied with his search.

Dr. Afari-Gyan said his search revealed something rather ‘interesting’ saying “the first thing that aroused my curiosity is that the EC does print its register in colour but this extract has been printed in colour.

He then said the actual register was used in the December 2012 elections had 365 voters in the polling station code and name F331701, MA Primary School respectively in the Nyinampong in the Mampong Constituency adding that when he looked at pages five and six of the EC's original register the names and identities there were different from the pages five and six given by the petitioners in their extract.

Justice Baffoe-Bonnie then requested for the registers and drew the attention of the court to a mix up. He says even though on the first page it is recorded as Mampong Municipal, the extract in actual fact talks about Anglican MA school Mampong. 

Dr. Afari-Gyan then intervened saying “I was coming to that” before explaining that when he printed the copies of the Nyinampong Register they found the names but not in the arranged format in the extract given by the Petitioners.

He said the particulars of voters in the extract were all found in the Anglican School polling station register but they were all scattered and not in pages 5 7& 6.

Mr. Addison told the EC boss that the Register the commission provided had pictures captured in colour and the EC gave soft copy of the register to the parties and therefore anybody could print in colour before D. Afari-Gyan accepts Mr. Addison’s explanation.

Mr. Addison went ahead to ask the witness to identify the identity of woman in extract of the register and Dr. Afari-Gyan mentioned one Adwoa Gyamfua who had different name with the same particular.

Dr. Afari-Gyan then told the court that “as far as the eyes can see, they are the same person to me. One is supposed to be 47 and another 75.”

When Mr. Addison tried to tender the extract in evidence, it was vehemently opposed by the respondents on the grounds that the extract was not authentic.

Mr. Quarshie-Idun said Dr. Afari-Gyan had already doubted the authenticity of the document and therefore could not go in while Mr. Tsikata insisted that document “is lacking authenticity in many respects.”

He argues that “pictures that appear scattered in the actual register suddenly appears in the two pages of the Petitioners' extract of register. It constitutes a document that lacks the authenticity of the evidence. To try to tender a document whose authenticity has been shattered by the witness cannot be acceptable.” 

Justice Baffoe-Bonnie appeared to agree with the arguments by the respondents saying extracts must be extracts and the Petitioners needed to know it.

Extract Withdrawal

Mr. Addison disagreed with the judge and said the witness had confirmed that the details in the extract were the same in the EC's own register and added that the witness also affirmed that the EC gave all the parties soft copies of the register before offering to withdraw the document.

However, Mr. Quarshie-Idun insisted that once the respondents raised an objection, they were expecting a ruling on whether it was right for Mr. Addison to withdraw the document.

Mr. Tsikata also said Mr. Addison could not withdraw the document at that stage because it was “too late.”

Subsequently, the court unanimously allowed the withdrawal.

Sitting continues on Monday, July 15.