The petitioner in the 2020 election petition hearing at the supreme court, Former President John Dramani Mahama has, through one of his witnesses Johnson Asiedu Nketia told the court that there has never been any election in which the 1st Respondent, the Electoral Commission (EC) has admitted a catalogue of errors than in the 2020 presidential elections.
Mr Mahama picked the General Secretary of his party Mr Asiedu Nketia and Mr Michael Kpessah-Whyte to testify in the case.
This comes after the Supreme Court on Tuesday January 26 ordered him to file his witness statements and arguments in response to the preliminary objection raised by the respondents latest by Wednesday, January 27.
The court also expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the petitioner and warned it will take appropriate actions against him if he fails to comply with the order to file the witness statements and arguments by the given deadline.
These actions, the court said could include the dismissal of the petition.
The court ordered during its last sitting on Wednesday, January 20, that all parties file their witness statement by Thursday noon, an order the counsel for the petitioner, Lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata contended was too short a time.
At the last hearing, the case has been adjourned to Thursday, January 28.
Asiedu Nketia in his witness statement filed on Wednesday January 27 said among other things that “In no previous Presidential Election in the Fourth Republic in Ghana has there been such a catalogue of admitted errors as in what happened after the 7th December 2020 Presidential elections.
“In all previous Presidential Elections, results collated at each constituency collation centre were transmitted directly by fax from 1st Respondent’s regional offices (without collation), to what is usually referred to as the ‘strongroom’ at its head office in Accra, and handed over to the representatives of the candidates, for them to scrutinize and then certify.
“In those previous Presidential Elections, when 1st Respondent declared the final results, they were based on the collated results from the constituencies which were duly certified by representatives of the candidates in the strong room.”
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana
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