Mahama must concede defeat like Akufo-Addo did after 2012 election petition – Frank Davies

A member of President Akufo-Addo's legal team in the 2020 election petition case, Mr. Frank Davies has questioned John Dramani Mahama’s unwillingness to concede defeat despite the Supreme Court’s verdict in favour of the incumbent.

“We decide to do things by ourselves but the judgement lies with the people. We were in a similar situation in 2013. As a lawyer, I was dissatisfied with the verdict, but we had to accept it. Nana Addo accepted it even when the judges voted 5 – 4. He called John Mahama to congratulate him. The late Amissah-Attah announced this publicly, that Nana Addo had congratulated him,” Mr Davies said.

“What is the difference? A 7 – 0 vote by the judges? Is this what he is bitter about? What has changed now? Isn’t it the same Supreme Court? This double standards by some politicians is what makes some Ghanaians doubt politicians.”

The petitioner in the 2020 election petition case, Joh Dramani Mahama is yet to call President Akufo-Addo to concede defeat after the Supreme Court’s verdict.

Mr. John Mahama, who represented the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the polls, went to court insisting that none of the nine presidential candidates obtained the mandatory 50%+1 vote threshold to be declared outright winner of the polls.

In his petition filed on December 30, 2020, Mr. Mahama sought five reliefs from the apex court.

He, among other things, asked the Supreme Court to declare the EC's declaration of President Nana Akufo-Addo as winner of the polls unconstitutional, null and void.

Mr. Mahama based his arguments on some declaration errors made by the EC as well as allegations of vote padding.

He also asked the apex court to order the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct a re-run of the election between himself and President Akufo-Addo.

The respondents — the Electoral Commission and President Akufo-Addo– urged the apex court to dismiss the petition.

They argued that the petition was incompetent, lacked merit, and raised no reasonable cause of action.

But three months after the trial commenced, the Supreme Court, on Thursday, March 4, 2021, ruled that the petition as filed by John Mahama was without merit.

Chair of the seven-member panel, Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah subsequently dismissed the petition.

In its ruling, however, the Supreme Court said the petitioner failed to prove his case via his petition or through his witnesses hence the verdict.

---citinewsroom