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Former president John Dramani Mahama’s election petition suffered another jolt at the Supreme Court on Thursday when the apex court dismissed his application for a review of its decision that disallowed him from asking the Electoral Commission (EC) 12 questions in the case.
The nine-member panel court in its ruling Thursday said the applicant had not met the threshold to apply for review and was subsequently dismissed.
Two additional justices, Justice Imoro Tanko and Justice Henrietta Mensah Bonsu were added to the earlier seven-member panel for the review application.
The seven other justices on the panel hearing the petition to determine whether or not President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is the validly elected President of Ghana are the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, Justice Yaw Apau, Justice Samuel Kofi Marful-Sau, Justice Prof. Nii Ashie Kotey, Justice Nene A. O. Amegatcher, Justice Gertrude Torkonoo and Justice Mariama Owusu
The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama, is challenging the declaration of President Akufo-Addo as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
Background
Mahama’s lawyer, on 19 January 2020, moved a motion praying the court for leave to serve certain questions on the Electoral Commission (Application for Interrogatories) which he claimed if answered would narrow down the issues before the court.
The Ex-President in the application wanted the EC to answer among others, questions relating to the processes involved in the transmission of results from the polling station level, to the constituency level, to the regional offices of the EC and subsequently to the Returning Officer of the presidential election, Mrs. Jean Mensa, at the EC office. He also sought to solicit responses on whether or not the National Communications Authority (NCA) in any way facilitated the transmission of results from the various centres to the national headquarters of the EC.
The EC through its lawyer, Justin Amenuvor, opposed the application urging the court not to grant the application as it did not raise any relevant issues that were in contention. It was the case of the EC that the answers being sought by the Petitioner were already contained in their own petition and the responses of the respondents.
The court after going on recess for about 45 minutes reconstituted and ruled that the application for interrogatories by the Petitioner were not grounded in law and that same is in contravention of the rules that govern adjudication of the election petitions (CI 99) which is the main issue before the court. The application was dismissed on the ruling of the Chief Justice on the 19th of January 2021.
Source: Daily Mail GH
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