The Supreme Court has fixed April 16, 2013 to start hearing of the substantive matter of the Election Petition filed by three leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), comprising the party’s presidential candidate for the 2012 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his running mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the party’s chairman, Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey challenging the validity of the 2012 presidential election.
The Petitioners, who have named President Mahama, the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the political party on whose ticket President John Dramani Mahama contested the elections as respondents, are claiming the election was rigged by the EC in favor of President Mahama.
The court also decided that all witnesses would have to come by affidavit and have consequently asked the parties in the case to file affidavit of witnesses they intend to call.
The petitioners and respondents would however give their evidence orally.
This decision by the court was arrived at when sitting resumed Tuesday morning to consider, resolve and adopt issues to be raised by lawyers in the petition contesting the legitimacy of President John Dramani Mahama.
Earlier on in the day, the court set out two issues for trial in the presidential petition.
This was after the parties involved in the petition failed to determine the memoranda of issues on their own compelling the Supreme Court to narrowed the issues down to two.
The issues set by the highest court of the land include whether or not there were statutory violations, omissions, irregularities and malpractices in the conduct of the elections held on December 7 and 8, 2012.
The court is also to ascertain whether or not the said violations, omissions, irregularities and malpractices affected the outcome of the results of the elections.
Today’s sitting marked the last hurdle to be cleared before the hearing of the substantive petition which is calling for the annulment of 4,670,504 votes cast during the December 2012 presidential polls.
On March 4, 2013, the three petitioners filed issues to be set out for trial while the President on March 13, 2013 also filed application for directions.
They have petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the results of the December 7 presidential elections.
They are requesting the court to annul 4,670,504 of the valid votes cast during the election at 11,916 polling stations where they claim irregularities took place.