NPP Goes to Supreme Court on Electoral Fraud?

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Created on Thursday, 13 December 2012 00:00

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NPP Goes to Supreme Court on Electoral Fraud?

The leadership of the main opposition party- the New Patriotic Party (NPP); has indicated to its teeming agitated supporters and sympathizers at their protest rally at Obra Spot, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, in Accra, that the party has gathered enough credible evidence to invalidate or overturn the result of the just-ended presidential election of 07 and 08 December 2012.

On 09 December 2012; the Electoral Commissioner- Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, notwithstanding contestations of some aspects of voting figures allegedly credited to the sitting-president by the EC, declared the incumbent President John Mahama, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), as president-elect to be sworn in for 4-year term of office on 07 January 2013.

According to the figures made available by the EC to the public, President John Dramani Mahama, secured 5,574,761 votes, representing 50.70% of the valid votes cast.

He triumphed over his main contestant- Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP, who had 5,248,898 votes, representing 47.74%. The EC reports at its Facebook page that the remaining six presidential candidates- Dr Abu Sakara Foster (CPP); Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom (PPP); Dr Henry Lartey (GCPP); Hasan Ayariga (PNC); Kwasi Addai Odeke (UFP) and Jacob Osei Yeboah (Independent), each gained less than 0.60% of the total valid votes cast.

There were a little over 14 million registered voters.

In the words of the Electoral Commission, the rejected ballots were 251,720. The Daily Graphic reports that prior to this year’s elections, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) gave an assurance that it had embarked on intensive education to address the problem of rejected ballots. Yet the number increased by almost 50,000 to 251,720.

The report added that “Out of the 8,704,937 total votes cast in the 2008 general election, 205,966 of them, representing 2.37 per cent of the votes cast, were rejected.”

Apart from these chronic problems are the perceptions that the EC had not been fair and accurate in the declaration of this year’s presidential and parliamentary results.

Whereas the leaders of the remaining five political parties seem to be satisfied with the outcome of the general elections and have therefore, conceded defeat and accordingly, called press conferences to congratulate the president-elect John Dramani Mahama, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom of the PPP, has also raised some concerns about some of the figures awarded to his party.

In a letter to the Chairman of the EC- Dr Afari Gyan, the PPP posits that in the Assin South Constituency, it was initially assigned 134 votes in both the presidential and parliamentary contests. But upon a request for a recount by the party's parliamentary candidate, the parliamentary figure was changed to 1,487, while the presidential figure was changed to 521.

The NPP; on its part, has for example, issues with Tamale South Constituency where it is alleged that the president actually had 37,832 but was awarded with 53,536 votes- a total difference of 15,204 votes.

The same is told of Lower Manya Krobo, where the NPP submits that the actual votes gained by John Mahama were 23,520 yet the President, was allegedly credited with 30,183- a difference of 6,403. These according to NPP, are tip of the iceberg.

Hence, the NPP’s agitations or refusal in conceding defeat, to the president-elect John Mahama. This has however; not dispirited the party-elect, to rule Ghana as from January 2013.

On Monday, 10 December 2012, the NDC held victory rally at Obra Spot, in Accra, where the president-elect expressed his gratitude to his party supporters for voting for him, not forgetting millions of Ghanaian voters, for their patience in making the electoral process free, fair and peaceful.

The president said that the victory which is to be celebrated again on Saturday, 15 December 2012 at the Trade Fair Site, in Accra, is not of the NDC alone but for all Ghanaians who have once again made Ghana proud in the consolidation of its democratic struggle. He accordingly, advised his enchanted supporters to be circumspect in the celebration of their triumph to avoid political confrontations that might compromise the collective security of all.

At the flanks of these are mounting agitations and protests of NPP supporters both at the private residence of Nana Akufo-Addo and the party’s Headquarters at Asylum Town; in Accra, insisting on the NPP’s leadership, to be swift in bringing a writ to invalidate the presidential result that they state should have favoured Nana Akufo-Addo but not John Mahama, as had already been declared by the constitutionally mandated EC- Dr Afari Gyan.

On Monday; 10 December 2012, emotions and indeed expectations became high at NPP’s Headquarters as party supports who clad in party’s T-Shirts, colours and other paraphernalia, beat war drums and chanted war songs such as “Obiri Mankoma... Osono ekyi enni aboa” in the Akan Language- meaning, in the animal kingdom, there could be indeed no animal in size and strength, after the elephant. Others wore red bands around their heads, knecks and writs and with placards reading: “No justice, no peace”- imputing that their party had been robbed in the polls.

The party supporters and sympathizers are accordingly, expecting Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and NPP leadership, to petition the Supreme Court to challenge the validity of the election of John Mahama.

Article 64 of the 1992 Republican Constitution states that a citizen of Ghana may challenge the validity of the election of the President, provided that such a writ is brought within twenty-one (21) days after the EC had declared the result.

It is worth noting that if the evidence and the action are upheld by the Supreme Court, the Constitution makes it clear that the Court has the power to invalidate the EC’s declaration.

Assuming these allegations were to be entertained and upheld, the plausible measures from the Supreme Courts might be that an injunction could be placed on the declared presidential result which bestows on the incumbent-president John Mahama as a winner of the just-ended presidential polls.

The Court could equally dismiss the allegations for lack of merit- in which case the declared result will be affirmed. There could also be the possibility of overturning the verdict in NPP’s favour or a call for a presidential run-off latest by 28 of December 2012, to determine the clear winner, whichever way is justifiable. There appears to be sharp contrasting arguments against the said legal bidding.

But Dr. Kwesi Prempeh- a constitutional lawyer has warned that the nation threads upon a very dangerous path if it does not work to keep the Electoral Commission and its officials constitutionally accountable for their actions and that with the sort of response coming from the general public through the social media platforms, the integrity of the Ghanaian legal and electoral process could be questioned in the future if the current perception around NPP’s challenge that there was conspiracy between the sitting-president and some staff of the EC to manipulate the election figures does not change.

It must be mentioned in passing that during the elections, allegations were rife that the EC and the ruling government had solicited the services of a Chinese and Israeli IT firms in the monitoring and collation of the votes cast without the knowledge of the opposition parties. This attracted the attention of the head of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group and former President of Nigeria - General Obasanjo (Rtd) and Nana Yaw Osafo-Marfo- a leading member of the main opposition NPP, to investigate the matter.

Although the service providers at the facility imputed that they have been contracted by and indeed on the errand of the EC, the Public Relations Officer Sylvia Annor at the Electoral Commission, disputed this claim.

Yet Nothing incriminating or misleading appears to have come out of the findings at the facility and here, as to why a foreign company could misuse the authority of the EC.

The EC has also persistently dismissed any wrongdoing, stating that if NPP has objections to the outcome of the elections it could turn to the Supreme Court for redress. But some think that the dust has already settled and therefore, the verdict must be left in the hands of God.

Others say no, reasoning that this should be a test case for Ghanaian democracy and a lesson to the EC and the politician that the peoples vote cannot be bought or sold.

In the words of Dr Prempeh, the Electoral Commission is created by law and the people who work there ought not to be seen like they are above the law.

"These are regular public officials, there is now reason we should trust them any more than we do anybody else. We shouldn’t just assume that wouldn’t do their work but we shouldn’t also assume that whatever it is that they have done in the course of the election, is above board,” he said.

According to Dr Prempeh, the idea that Nana Akufo-Addo is actually contesting this or plans or contemplates contesting this in court is being read as somewhat sinister or subversive and it casts my mind back to 2008, when a similar attempt to go the court was also painted as an attempt to create chaos. “I think it is a dangerous argument,” he told Citifm.

It is probably against this backdrop that the NPP has indicated its intention to sail to the supreme court.

But in a country where the misconceptions are rife that judicial decisions are heavily laden with political and ideological considerations, it is unclear to JusticeGhana, what the response of the some 11-member SC judges who by law, must all be present for the determination of this celebrated case which is to be presided over or chaired by the Chief Justice of the Republic- Her Ladyship Mrs Theodoara Georgina Wood, might be.

We at the JusticeGhana are certain however that our learned judges will surely exercise their individual discretions and judgements in giving a fairer hearing to all the interested parties so as to diffuse the current political tensions in Ghana.

It is true that the wheels of justice run slowly. Yet it could be expected that administration of justice could be dispensed fairly and swiftly as justice delayed is arguably, justice denied- meaning, time is of essence here and after the axe of justice had fallen, all the interested parties ought to accept it in good faith.

In this way, Ghana, the often touted as a model of democracy in Africa, due to its pride of 30 years of relative stability and economic growth in one of the more politically unstable regions of the world, might have been secured.

It must be told that this year’s election notwithstanding its measured success and international recognition was declared amid tight security presence at the Electoral Commission’s office as well as police-cum-military roadblocks in some parts of Accra.

Yet JusticeGhana believes strongly that the Ghanaian and here; the Supreme Court, can certainly rise to the challenge.

JusticeGhana