The governing National Democratic Congress who are the third Respondents in the Presidential Election Petition has failed to file their address by July 30, as ordered by the Supreme Court.
It is not yet clear why the NDC did not meet the deadline. It is also not clear if, at all, there will be sanctions by the Supreme Court.
The petition which is a challenge on the legitimacy of the declaration of John Mahama as winner of the 2012 Presidential Elections was brought by three Petitioners from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP)- Nana Akufo-Addo, flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, vice-presidential candidate, and Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, National Chairman of the party.
The judges after hearing the arguments by the Petitioners and Respondents directed the parties to file their address by Tuesday 30th July but the NDC failed to meet that deadline.
The Electoral Commission, the second Respondent in the Presidential Election Petition, submitted a 15 paged document, 19 copies each, in a vehement defence of their claim that the 2012 elections were free and fair.
A member of the NDC legal team Victor Adawudu filed a 20 paged document each with an appendix attached to it on behalf of the president who is first Respondent in the petition.
But the governing party somehow missed the deadline for filing.
A member of the ruling NDC’s legal team, Abraham Amaliba had admitted earlier on Tuesday that filing their addresses to expose the poverty of allegations by the Petitioners involved in the Presidential Election Petition was a herculean task.
According to him, the addresses were more difficult than sorting out pink sheets under contention in the case. He spoke on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen.
Much earlier on Monday, the NDC legal team said that their team has decided to file on the deadline for “strategic reasons”, because they do not want to give away their legal arguments
The court will direct affairs tomorrow when it resumes sitting.
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