Is Mahama President By ‘Error’? - Buaben Asamoah asks

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Created on Friday, 26 April 2013 00:00

Is Mahama President By ‘Error’? - Buaben Asamoah asks

27 April 2013

A deputy communications director of the New Patriotic Party says the happenings in the ongoing election petition hearing where counsel for John Dramani Mahama has attributed the violations, malpractices and irregularities that occurred in the 2012 presidential elections to ‘administrative errors’ could only mean his client was declared president by the Electoral Commission by error.

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In an exclusive interview with the New Statesman, Buaben Asamoah stated that the thrust of Mr Lithur’s cross-examination of Dr Bawumia, which lasted five days, was to the effect that John Mahama’s presidency must be upheld because the so-called administrative errors were the cause of the irregularities being alleged by the petitioners.

Counsel for the EC, James Quarshie-Idun, yesterday described the errors as “transpositional” and “clerical.”

“It is clear that Tony Lithur and John Mahama have accepted that there were irregularities and malpractices, on the face of the pink sheets, to suggest that John Mahama was not validly elected President. However, they are now shifting the blame or the cause of these irregularities on ‘administrative errors’”, he noted.

He continued, “Per what Tony Lithur and John Mahama want Ghanaians to believe, what is the tolerable level of ‘administrative errors’ that should elect Ghana’s President?”

Mr Buaben Asamoah maintained that it should be the thumbs of Ghanaians, and not ‘administrative errors’, which should elect for them a President.

“The Supreme Court, as per the logic of the EC and NDC, is being asked to decide whether ‘administrative errors’ should have preference for who should become President or whether it is the voters who actually have the power to determine who should become President. I believe the judgement to be made, as per the EC and NDC’s logic, would be very simple,” Mr Asamoa said.

Mr Buaben Asamoah dismissed the arguments by Mr Lithur that polling agents of the NPP should be blamed for the ‘administrative errors’ that resulted in election of President Mahama.

He noted that it is the Electoral Commission, the 2nd Respondent in the case, that has the legal, constitutional and financial mandate to organise elections and ensure that its integrity is upheld, adding that polling agents are merely exalted observers, as aptly described by Dr Bawumia.

“We expect the elections to be free and fair and should have no reason to complain about the ‘referee’ of the elections. That is why the ‘referee’, who is the Electoral Commission, is supposed to be independent,” Yaw Buaben noted.

He continued, “This defence being put up by Tony Lithur and the EC is neither here nor there. If the EC believes polling agents are responsible for upholding the integrity of election results, then the EC shouldn’t have declared the results since not all parties have agents in all polling stations.”

By Fiifi Arhin

Source: The New Statesman/Ghana