Day one of SALL trial: Prof Margaret Kweku testify in court

Prof. Margaret Kweku the 1st Petitioner in the election petition case against Hon. Peter Amewu testified in the Ho High Court on behalf of all five petitioners. A witness statement she filed on May 30, 2024 was adopted as her evidence-in-chief. A number of documents referred to in her witness statement such as the announcement by the Electoral Commission on December 6, 2020 preventing voters in the SALL traditional areas from voting in the parliamentary elections were admitted in evidence.

She also put in evidence documents which the court had ordered the Electoral Commission to produce. These included the list of registered voters in the SALL traditional areas. According to the 1st Petitioner, the list showed that there were 17,688 registered voters in the SALL traditional areas.

Under cross-examination from Counsel for 1st and 2nd Respondents, the witness indicated that references made to various Constitutional Instruments in her witness statement could be explained by her Counsel as she was not technically qualified to do so. The witness gave her background as a medical doctor and a lecturer in the University of Health and Allied Sciences at the Hohoe campus.

Counsel for the petitioners Mr Tsatsu Tsikata announced that there will be no re-examination and there will be no other witness called for the petitioners.

The Court went on to grant a motion by Counsel for Hon. Peter Amewu to amend his answer to the election petition as there was opposition to the motion by either counsel for petitioners or the 1st Respondents. The Court further gave the 2nd Respondent 48 hours to file the amended answer and five (5) days to file any further issues and / or an amended witness statement.

The Court then adjourned the case to June 26, 2024 when Hon. Peter Amewu is expected to testify. A further date of July 2, 2024 was also set by the court for continuation of the trial.

During the Case Management Conference (CMC) before the testimony of Prof. Margaret Kweku, Counsel for the Electoral Commission notified the court that the Commission would not call any witness.

Witness Statement below: