Black Wednesday for Dr Bwumia; NDC lawyer declares

 Black Wednesday for Dr Bwumia; NDC lawyer declares

A member of the legal team of the National Democratic Congress says today may well mark the “saddest” day in the life of the witness-in-chief of the petitioners who are challenging results of the 2012 general elections.

Abraham Amaliba who described today as a “black Wednesday” for Dr Mahamudu Bawumia expressed total shock when the witness admitted during cross examination on Wednesday that the NPP had delegated a polling agent to a polling station the petitioners had described as unknown.

Dr Bawumia in his evidence in chief last Wednesday named 22 polling stations he said were alien to the NPP prior to the 2012 election.

He argued that the details of the 22 polling stations were not part of the over 24,000 list of polling stations the EC provided to the various parties.

However on Wednesday, when Quarshie-Idun, counsel for the EC took over the baton of cross-examination from Tony Lithur, counsel for the President John Mahama, he minced no words in challenging the allegations that the 22 polling stations were alien to the petitioners.

He presented a letter purported to have been signed by officials of the petitioners in which a polling agent was assigned to a polling station which fell in the category of what the petitioners claim were ghost polling stations.

He wondered how the petitioners would assign an agent to a non-existent polling station.

Dr Bawumia denied knowledge of the presence of the letter but confirmed, on the face of the letter, that it was signed by an official of the NPP.

He explained further that signing a letter to assign a polling agent to a polling station that is not recognized by law does not legitimize the presence of that particular polling station.

His response to that query did not appear to have impressed lawyers of the NDC.

Abraham Amaliba told Joy News today is indeed a “Black Wednesday” for Dr Bawumia.

He said for Dr Bawumia who had sworn an affidavit to the court that 22 polling stations were unknown to them only for him to admit today that the NPP had sent an agent to one of those polling stations was a testimony that “marks a total collapse of the petitioner’s case.”

He said “no amount of academic gymnastic can salvage” the irredeemable deceit by the second petitioner and witness in chief of the petitioners.

But a member of NPP, who is also a lawyer, Buabeng Asamoah said it is only a “figment of imaginations” for anybody to suggest that Bawumia had a bad day on Wednesday.

He said it was strange that the EC after the election sought to provide details of what it says were the correct designations of the unknown polling stations.

Asamoah argued that the EC cannot continue to blame administrative errors for the huge irregularities in the 2012 elections adding, if they (respondents) think that by pointing to mere errors in Bawumia’s pleadings could exonerate the EC from the huge irregularities, then they should think again.