Election petition: Justice cannot be sacrificed for expedition - Tsatsu to Supreme Court
- Tsatsu Tsikata has reminded the Supreme Court that it cannot trade justice for expedition in the on-going election petition trial
- His remarks followed an order from the court that all parties in the case must file witness statements by midday on Thursday, January 21, 2021
- Mahama is before the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome of the presidential race in the 2020 polls
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Tsatsu Tsikata has cautioned the seven-member bench hearing the on-going 2020 election petition trial against sacrificing justice for “expedition.”
“Justice cannot be sacrificed for expedition,” the veteran legal luminary told the bench presided by Ghana’s Chief Justice, Justice Anim Yeboah, on Wednesday, 20 January 2021.
Source: UGC
Tsikata’s admonition was in reaction to the order for the parties in the case to file their witness statements by noon on Thursday, January 21, 2021.
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In his view, the apex court’s insistence on sticking to the specifications in C. I. 99 for hearing election petitions must not be seen as an attempt to a party justice.
He said the order given for filing of witness statements was not enough and an affront to the law.
The bench, however, argued that he should have known that they would be expected to file witness statements and they should have been prepared ahead of time.
Meanwhile, Mahama has no intention of backing down from his request to ask the Electoral Commission (EC) 12 questions.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, dismissed the request, citing the need to keep to the timeline stipulated in C. I. 99.
Mahama, however, served notice that he was not going to accept the ruling.
He has, therefore, through his lawyers filed an application asking the apex court to review its decision, denying him the opportunity to ask the EC his 12 questions.
Mahama’s lead counsel, Tsatsu Tsikata on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, informed the court about the filing of the application.
To review its earlier ruling, the court would have to empanel two additional Supreme Court Justices.
Mahama on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, filed a petition before the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome of the presidential race.
According to the former president, the election was rigged in favour of President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Akufo-Addo defeated Mahama in the election to secure another four-year term; collecting 51.302% of the votes cast against the latter’s 47.359%.
The votes difference between the two candidates stood at 517, 231, representing a four percentage point, one of the highest since 1996.
Mahama wants a rerun of the election between him and Akufo-Addo, stating that there was no winner contrary to the outcome declared by the Electoral Commission.
President Akufo-Addo rejected Mahama’s assertion that the presidential race should have gone to a runoff.
Over 13 million Ghanaians voted in the Monday, December 7, 2021, election that saw him secure a second mandate.
In his views, the petition challenging his victory was nothing but “noise”.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
