Election petition: You can’t dictate to us

A private legal practitioner and member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo has rebuked spokespersons of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) saying they cannot dictate how his party decides to pursue its Election Petition case.

Mr. Kpakpo Samoa Addo said the NDC understands its case better than anyone and will pursue it to the letter.

He thus asked the NPP to stop giving NDC guidance on how to go about its case.

“The NDC’s position is that we have gone to court seeking to show that under article 63 and 63(9) the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission acted unlawfully and unconstitutional and because she didn’t act constitutionally by declaring the results in constitutional provisions, in our opinion, none of the candidates that contested in terms of the two leading parties attained the 50% +1 votes and therefore the court should decide whether our arguments are legally sound or not but when filed, our friends in the NPP keep making the point that we should do the case the way they think is right but let them know that they will not tell us how to go by our own case.”

About the election petition

Flagbearer of the NDC in the 2020 election, John Mahama is in court after he and his party rejected the results of the presidential polls.

Mr. Mahama is of the view that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo failed to obtain the requisite number of votes to be declared the winner.

He is thus asking the Supreme Court to among other things declare the 2020 presidential polls null and void and further order the Electoral Commission to conduct a re-run of the election between himself and President Akufo-Addo.

At the last hearing on Friday, January 29, 2021, the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia was put in the witness box and was going through cross-examination.

Mr. Asiedu Nketia in some of his responses to questions asked by the lead counsel for the first respondent, Justin Amenuvor said he was not the petitioner hence could not provide answers.

Frank Davies, one of the lawyers for the second respondent later questioned why Mr. Asiedu Nketia was in court if he could not speak for John Mahama in the case.

But Dominic Ayine, a spokesperson for John Mahama in the Election Petition case, said Mr. Davies' position was surprising as he seems to be confusing the petitioner with a witness.

“I'm surprised that a senior like Frank Davies' stature is confusing the petitioner with witnesses the petitioner calls.”

The court is expected to continue with the cross-examination on Monday, February 1, 2021.

---citinewsroom