NPP Petition: NDC Files Supplementary Affidavit

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Created on Thursday, 10 January 2013 00:00

NPP Petition: NDC Files Supplementary Affidavit

10 Jan 2013

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has filed a supplementary affidavit to its motion to join a petition by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, his running mate, and Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, the National Chairman of the NPP, challenging the declaration of President John Dramani Mahama as winner of the December 2012 presidential election.

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The supplementary affidavit, which was filed at 9:45 a.m. yesterday and deposed to on behalf of the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, said, "A denial of the applicant the opportunity to be joined so as to be heard in respect of this election would be a denial of the constitutional rights of the applicant."

According to the supplementary affidavit, the NDC had represented its interest, that of its presidential candidate and parliamentary candidates "in the deliberations of the Electoral Commission (EC) with all political parties and candidates in connection with the elections" and, for that reason, the party had the right to be joined to the petition.

President Mahama has been hinged to a petition challenging the results of the December 2012 presidential election, which petition has Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr Bawumia and Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey as petitioners.

Also attached to the petition is the EC.

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.

However, domestic election observers and international observers have described the elections as generally free and fair.

The supplementary affidavit further pointed out that President Mahama was selected as a presidential candidate on the ticket of the NDC after the death of Professor John Evans Atta Mills and subsequently stood on the ticket of the party in the December 2012 elections.

It said the NDC "deployed throughout all the polling stations agents to represent the interests of its candidates in both presidential and parliamentary elections".

It stated that it was indisputable that as the party which selected President Mahama to stand on its platform and on whose platform he stood, "the applicant herein has a vital interest in this petition and deserves to be joined as respondent and be heard in this petition".

An affidavit in support of the substantive motion for joinder deposed on behalf of the NDC said the NDC as a party on whose ticket the President contested the elections "has a direct interest and a stake in the matter and will be affected by any decision of this honourable court".

"As a party which will be directly affected by the decision, the NDC is entitled to be joined as a party and be heard in respect of the petition and seek to be joined by the motion herein," it pointed out.

It said the NDC was a political party registered under the laws of Ghana and had, since the inception of the Fourth Republic, nominated and sponsored candidates for both parliamentary and presidential elections.

But Nana Akufo-Addo is opposed the NDC's application for joinder on the grounds that the move was aimed at delaying the trial.

Hearing of the motion for joinder been fixed for today.

The Chairman of the EC Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, on December 9, 2012 declared President Mahama winner of the polls with 50.70 while his closest contender Akufo-Addo, placed second with 47.74 per cent.

The petitioners are disputing the results of the election but the EC maintains that the results it declared were credible and accurate.

Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana