President Mahama files response to NPP petition

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Created on Saturday, 12 January 2013 00:00

President Mahama files response to NPP petition

12 Jan 2013

President John Dramani Mahama, has filed his response to a petition challenging his election as President in the December 7, 2012 Presidential election.

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He is accusing the Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his running mate, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia and the Chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey of“seeking to subvert the Constitution and undermine the sovereign will of the people of Ghana by demanding from the Honourable Court an order annulling the res ults of the exercise of their fundamental righs under the Constitution.”

“That the whole petition lacks merit and should be dismissed,” a response filed on behalf of the President by his lawyer, Mr Tony Lithur stated.

The response was filed at the Registry of the Supreme Court on Saturday, January 12, 2013.

The petitioners are accusing the Electoral Commission (EC) of doctoring the election results in favour of President Mahama but the EC, in its defence, has denied the claims and maintained the results declared were credible and accurate.

According to the petitioners, irregularities recorded during the elections, favoured the NDC, noting that 24,000 of the pink result sheets from some polling stations indicated that those irregularities were enough to affect the results.

But in a sharp rebuttal, the President in his response said the President “shall require from the petitioners particulars of the polling stations, constituencies and regions where pink sheets from different polling stations allegedly had the same serial numbers and the votes allegedly affected in each case.”

In an affidavit in opposition deposed to on behalf of the President by Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Campaign Co-ordinator of the President’s 2012 campaign team said, the President “demands from the petitioners particulars of names of persons who allegedly illegally padded and/or unlawfully reduced the votes, the polling stations, constituencies and regions where the alleged acts occurred, and the votes affected in each such polling station, constituency and region.”

It further demanded from the petitioners particulars of the alleged over voting, the names of polling stations, constituencies and regions in which the alleged over voting occurred as well as the “amount of alleged over voting in each case.”

It said it was acknowledged by all observers, domestic as well as international that the conduct of the elections had been generally free and fair as well as transparent.

Story by Mabel Aku Baneseh

Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana