Election Petition Hearing SUPREME COURT CAN’T OVERTURN EC’s DECISION - NDC Majority Caucus host declares

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Created on Wednesday, 03 July 2013 00:00

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Election Petition Hearing SUPREME COURT CAN’T OVERTURN EC’s DECISION - NDC Majority Caucus host declares

Barely 24 hours after Justice William Atuguba, president of the nine-member panel of justices hearing the presidential election petition at the Supreme Court, had issued a final warning to all to desist from making contemptuous statements relating to the hearing, a member of the National Democratic Congress made a comment which appeared to have flouted the warning.

The host of MultiTV’s evening political programme, Majority Caucus, Ali Dawood, stated on Tuesday June 25, 2013, that there was no way the Supreme Court could overturn any decision made by the Electoral Commission regarding the 2012 elections.

Mr Dawood, at exactly 7:03pm, before introducing panellists on the NDC programme, stated: “I do not see any Supreme Court over-turning any decision made by the EC”.

According to the NDC man, “President Mahama’s presidency is going to be intact. If anything at all, it is going to be confirmed by the Supreme Court and that there is never going to be a time, whether 2013 or the years to come, where we will have over-turning of verdicts in the Supreme Court; it is not going to happen.”

He continued: “For all of you NDC, including NPP, neutral minded persons watching me, nothing is going to come out of the Supreme Court case. No Supreme Court is going to over-turn any decision, take it from me.”

The Supreme Court on Thursday, June 27, 2013, issued an order for Stephen Atubiga, together with Kwaku Boahen, Ashanti Regional Youth Organiser of the NDC, and Ken Kuranchie, Managing Editor of the Searchlight newspaper, to appear before it today to answer to some comments they had made about the ongoing election petition hearing.

Ken Kuranchie was summoned to answer to some views expressed in a front-page comment in the Thursday, June 27, edition of his newspaper.

Stephen Atugiba and Kwaku Boahen were summoned to the court in respect of comments they made to the effect that the National Democratic Congress, and for that matter President John Dramani Mahama, would not be prepared to hand over power to the New Patriotic Party, in the event that the ongoing election petition was decided in favour of the petitioners.

The comments of the two NDC members were reported in the Thursday, June 27, 2013 edition of the New Statesman.

Since the publication, the paper’s attention has, however, been drawn to the fact that Kwaku Boahen originally made his comment on Wednesday, June 12, 2013, and not at the same time Stephen Atubiga made similar comments.

The public declaration of intention by some members of the NDC not to accept an unfavourable outcome of the election petition gained momentum after President Mahama himself had claimed he won the 2012 election “cleanly and fairly” and that the Supreme Court would not have any choice than to re-affirm his supposed clean victory.

Apparently emboldened by the position taken by President Mahama, Stephen Atubiga stated among other things on Asempa FM that it would be "a bitter-sweet victory" for the NPP even if the petitioners won their case because "Ghana cannot contain all of us".

When he was called in respect of his comment by Adom FM at noon of last Thursday, “Adamant” Atubiga insisted he stood by what he had said. However, after the Supreme Court had ordered him to appear before it, he was all over on radio apologising for what he acknowledged was ‘irresponsible’ comment.

Source: thestatesmanonline