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There was near stampede at the
Supreme Court registry on Friday as National Democratic Congress (NDC)
members trooped in to file joinders in the case in which three New
Patriotic Party (NPP) leaders, including the party’s presidential
candidate for the 2012 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, are
challenging the declaration of John Mahama as President.
At the last count, 18 individuals and groups, Daily Guide learnt, were able to file by the close of Friday to join the case.
This
is aside the 10 groups made up of 80 individuals who had earlier filed
to join the case in an obvious attempt to delay the process.
Daily Guide has learnt that more people are likely to storm the court in the latest craze to be part of the landmark case.
However,
the nine-member panel presided over by Justice William Atuguba has to
decide whether all the NDC members coming in, in the name of public
interest, have locus in the case, as the Electoral Commission is
representing all voters in the process.
Other members of the
panel are Justices Sophia O. Adinyira, Julius Ansah, Rose C. Owusu,
Annin Yeboah, Jones Dotse, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Sule Gbadegbe and Vida
Akoto-Bamfo.
The court has fixed March 14, 2013, to hear all the motions in order to set the date for hearing the petition.
The
NPP presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his running
mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the party’s National chairman, Jake Otanka
Obetsebi-Lamptey are the petitioners in the case.
They have
petitioned the court to investigate the results declared in 11,916
polling stations, stressing that they have evidence of irregularities
and malpractices in those polling stations which could nullify the votes
in those polling stations.
The Electoral Commission (EC) and President John Dramani Mahama are the respondents.
Nine
different groups of NDC supporters, making up 80 individuals, have
filed applications asking the Supreme Court to allow them to join the
petition.
The joinder applications by the NDC supporters are seen as a ploy to delay the court process.
Delay
If
the Supreme Court allows them to join, the progress made so far in the
case would be grounded to allow the applicants to file their answers to
the petition and therefore open the floodgate for more people to join.
Interestingly,
the joinder applications are coming after the petitioners had furnished
the respondents with “further and better particulars” of their case in
which they indicated the polling stations where the alleged
irregularities took place.
All the initial applications have the
stamps of Urafiki Law Consult, Ghana Commercial Bank Main, 1st Floor,
Near Meridian Hotel, Tema and this shows that they were all prepared
from that chamber.
In fact, a cursory look at all the
applications would show that they are initiating the action after the
petitioners were made to provide details of all the polling stations
where they claim irregularities or malpractices occurred.
All the
applications state, “We are surprised to hear that the petitioners have
in the present petition identified our polling station as one of those
whose entire results should be annulled by the Honourable Court on
grounds stated in the said petition.”
Applicants Unmasked
Strangely,
the applicants who are coming from different regions of the country
have the same averments in their affidavits in support of the motions
for joinder and they also have the same addresses as group members.
The
first group (10 individuals) to file the motion has one Dusime David of
Kaneshie Gadakope in the Awutu Senya East Constituency in the Central
Region as deponent.
All the group members have a similar address
and the deposition was made at Kasoa on February 25, 2013 before a
Commissioner of Oaths called ASP (Rtd) W.E. Domie and they cite B111204
as their polling station code.
In the case of the second group
(10 individuals), the deponent is William Kofi Asante of Apeguso in the
Asuagyaman Constituency of the Eastern Region on February 28, 2013. The
deposition was made before M.K. Agbomadzi, a Commissioner of Oaths in
Koforidua on February 28, 2013. They cite E011503 as their polling
station code.
The third application (10 individuals) was deposed
to by one Simon A. Mumuni of Sogashei in the Sagnarigu Constituency in
the Northern Region. They cite H200903 as their polling station code and
the application deposed to before a Commissioner of Oaths at the Tamale
District Magistrate Court.
The next application is that of a
group of seven people led by one Gameli Dosoo of Kasoa in the Awutu
Senya East Constituency as the deponent.
They cite B110706 as their polling station and have ASP (Rtd) W.E. Domie as their Commissioner of Oaths.
As
regards the fifth group of four individuals, one Patrick Kofi Mensah of
Agavenya in the Yilo Krobo Constituency is the deponent. They cite
E040901 as their polling station code and the deposition is certified in
Koforidua by M.K. Agbomadzi, a Commissioner of Oaths on February 28,
2013.
The sixth application has 10 individuals led by one
Alhassan Baba of Zgyuri in the Sagnarigu Constituency in the Northern
Region. They cite H201102 as their polling station code and their
deposition on February 27, 2013 is certified by the Commissioner for
Oaths at Tamale Magistrate Court.
In the next application of 10
individuals, one Iddrisu Mohammed of Dungu in the Sagnarigu Constituency
in the Northern Region is the deponent. They cite H200902 as their
polling station code and the deposition on February 27, 2013, was
supervised by the Commissioner of Oaths at Tamale Magistrate Court.
The
final application, made by nine individuals, was deposed to by one
Stephen Ametepey of Adam Nana in the Awutu Senya East Constituency of
the Central Region. They cite B110801 as their polling station code and
their deposition, without any date, was supervised by ASP (Rtd) W.E.
Domie, a Commissioner of Oaths at Kasoa.
They have all attached
photocopies of their voter identity cards as exhibits and they all
appear to provide a tally of the results recorded in the presidential
ballot in their various polling stations.
Arguments
Their
lines of argument appear similar to what the 1st respondent (President
John Dramani Mahama) and 3rd respondent,(National Democratic Congress –
NDC) cited in the main petition filed as their answers.
They are
claiming that there were no protests by any of the contesting political
parties when the results were declared and added that the processes were
so “transparent and compliant that after the declaration of the
results, there was no dispute about the winner; and we all accepted the
results as true and binding on us in the said polling station.
“As voters who had lawfully exercised their franchise, we say that we are directl |
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