The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), gave meaning to the party’s quest to seek legal redress after claiming the 2012 General Elections were rigged in favour of President John Dramani Mahama when its team of seasoned lawyers stormed the Supreme Court to file a suit seeking to invalidate the Presidential Election results.
On December 9, 2012, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), declared President Mahama as the president-elect in the December 7 polls, as the NPP made a failed attempt to convince the EC boss to put the results on hold for 24 hours to enable the party to produce more evidence of alleged discrepancies that would have enormous impact on the final results.
The party promptly rejected the declared results and declared its resolve to seek redress at the Supreme Court.
At a press conference in Accra today, National Chairman of the NPP, Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey stated: “I am happy to inform everybody here that suit number J1/6/13 has been duly filed at the Registry of the Supreme Court.”
He indicated that there were three named plaintiffs in the suit, namely Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Dr Mahamudu Bawiumia and himself.
He also revealed that the party uncovered irregularities that not only favored the NDC presidential candidate, John Mahama but also some NDC parliamentary candidates in various parts of the country.
In the said petition filed at the highest court of the land, the NPP prayed that the Supreme Court declares:
(1) That John Dramani Mahama, the 2nd Respondent herein was not validly elected president of the Republic of Ghana.
(2) That Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the 1st Petitioner herein, rather was validly elected President of the Republic of Ghana.
(3) Consequential orders as to this court may seem meet.
The other plaintiff, Nana Akufo Addo said the petition they filed at the Supreme Court was to ensure that the EC renders itself accountable to the people of Ghana.
Whiles stressing that Elections are not about those who count the ballots or supervise it, but about the people who casts their vote, the NPP Presidential candidate also pointed out that the opposition party does not seek to destabilize the country but rather ensure the sanctity of the ballots is protected.
“This case is not about candidate Mahama or candidate Akufo-Addo, there is a much more important issue at stake which goes to the heart of our democracy and the future of our nation. This action is being taken on behalf of the more than 5 million people that according to the electoral commission voted for me, to whom I am extremely grateful and on behalf of all the 11 million people who stood in line patiently on December 7 to cast their votes and on behalf of generations yet unborn…,” he said.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s Vice-Presidential Candidate and the third plaintiff of the petition, on his part, revealed that in the over 24,000 polling stations they audited the party discovered mild discrepancies at the polling station level.
According to him, there were “massive and pervasive” irregularities which he described as “sophisticated” that favoured John Dramni Mahama.
He added that though the irregularities occurred in small quantities at various polling stations, it accumulated to form a substantial quantum of votes, enough to change the outcome of the 2012 elections.
He also revealed that the party’s audit of the election results also revealed that there were thousands of polling stations that bore the same serial numbers.
Peacefmonline
