EC Shot Down Over Smuggled Pink Sheets - Q & A: Surprise Pink Sheet

Details

Parent Category: Justice & Security

Category: Law Reports

Created on Friday, 26 April 2013 00:00

Hits: 44392

Surprise Pink Sheet

Counsel (Quarshie-Idun): Do you have the Juaso Court Hall with you?

Witness (Dr Bawumia): Yes, my lords, I have it.

Counsel: So Dr. Bawumia, you have in your hands three documents?

Witness: Yes, my lords.

Counsel: One is MBT 2; can you tell us the polling station name?

Witness: Juaso Court Hall, F262901

Counsel: The second one is MBY 15

Witness: Yes, that’s also Juaso Court Hall

Counsel: And code

Witness: F262901

Counsel: So that is duplication?

Witness: No, it isn’t duplication, my lords. We presented these three pink sheets during my Evidence-in-Chief as an example of duplicate polling stations codes and Juaso Court Hall happens to have three pink sheets and we mentioned that this is one of the irregularities that we are pointing to. The pink sheets have different presiding officers and signatures of the agents for the same polling station… (At this moment, the bench reminded the counsel that he did not mention the third pink sheet)

Counsel: We have MBT

Justice Atuguba: MBT what?

Counsel: MBT only, my lord. What is the code (referring to the witness)

Witness: F262901. It is the same polling station code for all three separate pink sheets.

Counsel: The one which you have is the one which has total number of valid votes as 124?

Witness: Yes, my lords.

Counsel: (Pulling out a pink sheet and on the verge of presenting it to the witness) My lords, I have the original of the pink sheet…or before that, I am suggesting to you, Dr. Bawumia, that MBT was Special Voting.

Witness: My lords, I do not agree…

Counsel: Very well.

Justice Atuguba: You are saying all these MBTs relate to Special Voting?

Counsel: One of them relates to special voting.

Justice Atuguba: Okay.

Counsel: MBT (ordinary) is the one that has total votes of 124, is that not so?

Witness: It is, but a special voting should not have a code like this.

Counsel: And the other two have a total vote of 292?

Witness: Yes, my lords.

Counsel (Pulling out a pink sheet) I have in my hands the original pink sheet of the Juaso Court Hall for the special voting…(Justice Atuguba interrupts)

Justice Atuguba: This MBT series, are they not exhibited to his affidavit?

Counsel: Yes, my lords.

Atuguba: If they are why another process of tendering….?

Counsel: Because the original has special voting written on it.

Justice Atuguba: The original?

Counsel: Yes, my lords, but the photocopy from the petitioners has blotted that out. It’s easy to see if you look at the two, my lords.

Justice Atuguba: Okay, so…

Justice Rose Owusu: The special voting has separate pink sheet?

Counsel: Some of them subsequently were used for the general voting on the 7th of December, but the special voting took place on the 4th of December.

Justice Owusu: Do they have a separate pink sheet (emphasising the word Separate).

Counsel: Absolutely, my lords.

Justice Owusu: For special voting?

Counsel: Definitely, my lords, definitely because they are counted in the same way as the general voting according to the CI. They are counted in the same way, but at the collation centre, so they have pink sheets.

Counsel (Addison): My lords, we object to the tendering of this pink sheet. First of all, every writing on the face of this pink sheet is in blue ink, except the special voting, which has been done in red ink and it is of recent vintage. It has been put there after everything here has been filled out, that is why special voting does not appear on any of the three pink sheets we have tendered in this court.

But my lords, we made a categorical statement in our affidavit in paragraph 59 that the witness swore as follows: That there were three polling stations where exclusive instances of the irregularities and malpractices, polling stations with same polling codes and different results occurred and they can be found on the pink sheets. The combined effects of these infractions vitiated 687. Attached herewith and marked as exhibit MBT, MBT 1 and MBT 2 are photocopies of pink sheets of the polling stations where these infractions occurred.

Addison: Here was a specific mention of these pink sheets, and what was the response of the second respondent [EC], he responds in paragraph 14 (reading from the EC’s response to the petitioners’ Affidavit): Paragraph 36 to 68-blanket; 38 to 68 contains inconsistencies and are denied. The second respondent says that the petitioners are fastening onto errors committed in the completion of pink sheets by presiding officers that did not benefit any particular candidate or affect the number of valid votes cast at the polling stations. Not a single statement about this being special voting -not a word of it! My lords, yesterday, counsel tendered through the witness their own guide to election officers and directed the witness to read page 7, paragraphs 2.2 and 2.3. Clearly stated there is no provision for pink sheets… (He reads the paragraphs)…so my lords there it is; on the collation forms, it does not say the pink sheets…. (Counsel tries to interrupt)

Addison: Please exercise some patience. My lords, the EL 23 B is the presidential results collation form which is done at the collation centre; completely different from the pink sheets we are talking about, which is also the polling station declaration of results. My lords, on form number 23 B, it is stated as number one, Special voting results, and that is embossed on the form and that is where the collation officer enters the results of the special voting after counting it at the collation centre. This is what it is said in their own guidelines… (Counsel for first respondent [President Mahama] Tony Lithur interjects).