HOW OLD ARE YOU? ADDISON QUIZZES AFARI-GYAN

Nana Akufo-Addo & Dr. Bawumia with NPP gurus

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, July 17, 2013.

After 13 days of intense questioning, spiced with admissions and denials by Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), the petitioners in the landmark Presidential Election Petition brought their cross-examination to an end.

Yesterday’s exercise, led by Philip Addison, the lead counsel did not pass without some interesting revelations including Dr. Afari-Gyan’s real age, a tape recording played as well as the irregularities and malpractices complained about by the petitioners.

Afari-Gyan’s Age

It emerged that Dr. Afari-Gyan’s age in the voters register was different from his real age and when he was quizzed by the petitioners counsel, he admitted that what was in the register was not his real age.

It started when Mr. Addison asked Dr. Afari-Gyan if he recalled where he registered as a voter and the EC boss said it was at the W.E.D Du Bois Centre at Cantonments in Accra and then handed him that polling station’s register to find his name.

The EC Chairman rightly identified his particulars and it turned out that the age he provided to the election officials which was 66 was different from his right age which was 68.

Mr Addison: Dr Afari-Gyan do you recall when you did the registration?

Dr Afari-Gyan: I did the voter’s registration at the time of the registration.

Mr Addison: Every question I ask, you start with another question.

Dr Afari-Gyan: I cannot give you the exact date but before the 2012 elections.

Mr Addison: Month?

Dr Afari-Gyan: I’m not very good at keeping months in my head. I know that there was a registration period and I registered during the period.

Mr Addison: Do you remember the month in which you were born?

James Quarshie-Idun: My Lords enough is enough.

Justice Atuguba: Are you sure you didn’t ask this much earlier on?

Mr Addison: No no, not at all my Lords.

Quarshie-Idun: My Lords yes it was asked and he said he registered at Du Bois Center my Lords.

Justice Atuguba: Mr Addison your question about the registration was in relation to his?

Mr Addison: That is so my Lords. So Dr Afari-Gyan, you confirmed the information given on the register in respect of yourself?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Age, sex, name yes.

Mr Addison: And this registration was done last year? I’m talking about the registration epitomized by the document you are holding?

Dr Afari-Gyan: I have never done any political party registration.

Mr Addison: I thought you confirmed everything on the registration?

Dr Afari-Gyan: I have not confirmed everything my Lords. I have not done apolitical party registration ever.

Justice Jones Dotse: He just confirmed the name but added that he has never done EC political party registration in 2012.

Mr Addison: So Dr Afari-Gyan, at the time you registered for the 2012 elections which was last year, you were 66, that is what you are telling the court ?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes

Mr Addison: So you are aware that you were younger 2yrs to your room mate thhe first petitioner?

Dr Afari-Gyan: If you are telling me then yes but I don’t know that for a fact.

Mr Addison: Then I am suggesting to you that you are saying that you are younger by 2yrs.

Dr Afari-Gyan: My Lords fine.

Mr Addison: So doctor Afari-Gyan, it means we are going to have you around for another 3yrs?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Oh no I have already turned 68yrs so don’t worry about that

Mr Addison: I see. That is why I was asking you all the questions because I thought 66yrs was curious.

Dr Afari-Gyan: No. My Lords II have passed 68yrs.

Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey

Over-Voting Admission

Mr. Addison eventually succeeded in getting Dr. Afari-Gyan to admit that in a situation where there are more ballots in the box than the people verified to vote, the result should be cancelled.

This had been the long held position of Dr. Afari-Gyan until he entered the witness’ box and told the court that he had a ‘classical definition’ for over-voting which he said vote in the ballot box should be compared to the total number of the register at a polling station.

The Tape

When Dr. Afari-Gyan’s voice recorded on December 5, 2012 at the EC’s final news conference for the election at the Ghana International Press Centre was played in the packed court, he admitted it outright.

The tape played talk about variety of issues including a situation where every voter, except indicated, needed to be verified biometrically as well as issues of over-voting.

Mr Addison: Dr Afari-Gyan was that your voice?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes my Lords.

Mr Addison: On the recording we just heard, you said that FOs (Face Only) do not have to go through verification. That obviously was wrong.

Dr Afari-Gyan: No I said they would not have to undergo finger print. I said you don’t ask for a finger print because the person has none.

 

Mr Addison:  You also said that when there was an over-vote, the result would be canceled and there will be a rerun. Is that what you said? 

Dr Afari-Gyan: No my Lords, that is not what I said. I said when there is a cancelation, there will be a re-run if it could make a mathematical difference to the result.

Mr Addison:  You also said that if there are more ballots in the ballots box than the people verified, the results will be canceled?

Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes people are entitled to vote.

The Figures

At a point in the proceeding, Mr. Addison started bombarding the veteran elections administrator with series figures which according to him (counsel) constituted the irregularities the petitioners are complaining about.

He pointed out to him that the first respondent, John Dramani Mahama was the ultimate beneficiary of the irregularities.

He said that out of a total of 10,081 polling stations, the total votes affected as a result of the constitutional and statutory violation of over voting totaled 742,492 but Dr. Afari-Gyan replied that “Unless I know the specific polling stations, it will be difficult to say yes or no.” Mr. Addison continued that out of the number of over-vote of 742,492 that was affected, 502,013 inured to the benefit of President John Dramani Mahama (1^st respondent) and 225,155 going to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (1^st petitioner).

Dr. Afari-Gyan replied that “I don’t know the basis for this. It can’t be…if there is an over-vote there no way you can say it belongs to one candidate…it is wrong to say because someone won an election he is the beneficiary…I can’t answer that question.”

Mr. Addison again told the court that in the “No Verification” as an irregularity, the total votes affected was 810,827 and Dr. Afari-Gyan said as far as the EC is concerned everybody who voted was biometrically verified.”

Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie

Counsel persisted to ask that in that category alone, 558,236 of people who voted without biometric verification were attributed to President Mahama while Nana Akufo-Addo got 234,161 but the commissioner again said “I can’t answer the question.”

Mr. Addison again said that in the “No signature” category the total valid votes affected was 659,135 and 447,655 were attributed to President Mahama while Nana Akufo-Addo got 197,628 and Dr. Afari-Gyan said “I have no basis of knowing that.”

On the issue of duplicate serial numbers, Mr. Addison said that 3,499,308 valid votes were affected and 2,338,993 were attributable to President Mahama while 1,093,661 were given to Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Afari-Gyan again said “I don’t know that for a fact.”

Victor Adawudu

According to Mr. Addison, all the violations and irregularities affected 3,916,385 valid votes case and out of that 2,612,788 were attributable to President Mahama while Nana Akufo-Addo got 1,228,229 and Dr. Afari-Gyan said “I have no basis in knowing this.”

Mr. Addison: The major beneficiary was the 1^st respondent.

Dr. Afari-Gyan: That is not correct.

Mr. Addison: Do you have figures to the contrary.

Dr Afari-Gyan:  I announced the results of the election as presented by the various retaining officers and those figures have already been made public.

Mr Addison: But it is precisely those results that you announced that are being challenged in this court?

Dr Afari-Gyan: Yes my Lords.

Mr Addison: So I am asking you do you have any other figures apart from the ones I have just quoted to you? 

Dr Afari-Gyan: I’m saying that I have no basis to change the results as announced.

Mr Addison: My question was not whether you had the basis or not.

Dr Afari-Gyan: I don’t have any figures other than the ones that I announced.

Mr Addison: I have given you a set of figures and I also followed that by saying that the first respondent is the major beneficiary of these violations. What do you have to say to that?

Dr. Afari-Gyan: And I said that I denied the first respondent is the beneficiary.

Lezdokuku Questions

Earlier in the morning there was a give-and-take affair between all the counsels over whether or not the Ledzokuku Constituency evidence which started on Tuesday should be allowed by the court.

The respondents were insisting that the petitioners had already abandoned the evidence and there was no need to re-introduce it while Mr. Tsikata even added that the figures quoted by Mr. Addison last Tuesday were wrong and went to the extent of describing it as ‘unprofessional’.

The court in a 7-2 majority decision with Justices Atuguba and Sophia O. Adinyira dissenting on the grounds that the matters were restricted to only three polling stations, overruled the objection.

Addison’s Concession

Immediately Mr. Addison proceeded he admitted that the court that figures he gave regarding the Ledzokuku constituency were wrong and was withdrawing before he asked new sets of questions.

This did not go down well with the petitioner, with Dr. Abdul Bassit Aziz Bamba representing President Mahama in the absence of Tony Lithur insisted that if counsel was withdrawing then they needed to be heard on the issue.

After another heated argument, the court flagged down the respondent’s protest and asked Mr. Addison to proceed before Justice Atuguba commended Mr. Addison for his concession.

Gloria Akufo

Analysis of 9 constituencies

Mr. Addison then handed over a document which is analysis on votes in nine constituencies, Ledzorkuku missing pink sheets, Techiman North missing pink sheets, Yilo Krobo missing pink sheets, Upper West Akim missing pink sheets Mpohor missing pink sheets, Yendi Pink sheets Ketu North and Ofori krom missing pink sheets.

He asks witness if he had crossed the pink sheets and Dr. Afari-Gyan said he was only seeing them this morning and there is no opportunity to cross check.

Mr. Addison again asked if witness had checked the list of 833 pink sheets which were brought to his attention yesterday and he said he had not yet concluded before asking the court for more time to finish the cross-checking.

Mr. Addison presented to witness a document which is the analysis of nine constituencies and another list with allegations of missing pink sheets but Dr. Afari-Gyan said he did not understand what missing pink sheets meant.

In spite of persistent objections from Mr. Quarshie-Idun, Mr. Addison suggested to witness that the results declared by the EC as the total valid votes cast in Ledzokuku exceeded the votes recorded in the pink sheets by 8,069 and Dr. Afari-Gyan said that was wrong.

Mr. Addison: Can you tell the total valid votes cast in Techiman North but Dr. Afari-Gyan said he had to first cross check from the pink sheet.  

The list continued and Dr. Afari-Gyan mentioned the figure for Techiman North as 30,616 and Mr. Addison says it is the same figure in the analysis. Dr. Afari-Gyan confirmed before Mr. Addison suggested that the figure mentioned exceeded the total valid votes on the pink sheets by over 1,000.

In Yilo Krobo, Dr Afari-Gyan mentioned 42076 and Mr. Addison said there was an excess in the tally of pink sheets by over a 1000 votes but the witness disputed it.

At Berekum West, Dr. Afari-Gyan mentioned 18,117 and Mr. Addison said the figure exceeded the total tally on the pink sheets by almost 4,000 votes and the witness disputed.

Upper West Akim; Dr. Afari-Gyan mentioned 33,632 and confirmed it was the same figure in the analysis and Mr. Addison said the figure exceeds the total tally of pink sheets by over 1,300 votes but the witness disputed.

At Yendi, Dr. Afari-Gyan mentioned the total valid votes as 48,741 and Addison said the figure exceeded the total tally of pink sheets by over a 1,000 votes but he again disputed it.

Mr. Addison asked him to confirm the total valid votes cast in Oforikrom constituency and he said it was 90,760 and also confirmed the same figure was in the analysis.

Mr. Addison then said the figure exceeded the total tally of pink sheets by over 1600 votes but Dr. Afari-Gyan rejected the suggestion.

Mr. Addison again asked him to confirm the total valid votes cast in Ledzokuku constituency and he mentioned 94,931 and confirms it was the same figure in the analysis before Mr. Addison said the figure exceeded the total tally of pink sheets in the constituency by over 8,000 votes but the witness said “That is not correct.”

Mr. Addison again asked for the figure for Ketu North which was 43644 and said it exceeded the tally on pink sheets by 679 votes. But Dr. Afari-Gyan said “That is not correct.”

Finally at Mpohor, Dr. Afari-Gyan mentioned 17,406 and confirmed the same figure was in the analysis.  And Mr. Addison said that the figure exceeded the tally of pink sheets by 14 and the witness said “That is not correct.”