Ghana

Election petition: Petitioner being treated unfairly - Mahama’s legal team

Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 4:11 PM by Mohammed Awal 3 min read

- John Mahama’s legal team have expressed outrage over the frequency with which their applications were being thrown out

- They believe the justices of the Apex Court hearing the case are not treating their client fairly

- Mahama is before the Court, challenging the outcome of the 2020 polls

Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, says the justices of the Supreme Court in the ongoing election petition trial are being unfair to John Mahama in their rulings.

The justices since the commencement of the case dismissed almost all the applications brought before them by the lawyers of the petitioner, the latest being the request for the Court to review its earlier decision to dismiss Mahama’s interrogatories application.

Election petition: Petitioner being treated unfairly - Mahama’s legal team — Image credit: Freddy AI
Source: Facebook

Speaking to reporters after Thursday’s hearing, Appiah-Oppong said: “It is unfortunate. But, we have to say it as it is, the petitioner is not being treated fairly.”

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Election petition: Supreme Court refuses Mahama’s review application

The Court on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, dismissed the former president’s application for interrogatories.

The court unanimously held that the petition hearing is time-bound, hence, its inability to grant the application.

Mahama through his lawyers called for the review of the ruling, leading to the empanelling of additional two justices.

After hours of arguments from both the petitioner’s lawyers and that of the respondents, the nine-member panel refused the request for review.

Appiah-Oppong said the former president’s legal team vehemently disagreed with the position of the justices “but, that is their decision so there isn’t much we can do.”

In his arguments before the ruling, Mahama’s lead counsel, Tsatsu Tsikata, described the Court’s decision to dismiss the application as “an error” and that it was necessary for it to be reviewed.

According to him, granting the petitioner’s request will be critical in helping the Apex Court determine the authenticity of the results declared by the EC on December 9, 2020.

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Election petition: There cannot be a different interpretation of the law just because it is Mahama - Tsatsu

The judges, however, maintained they are strictly bound by C.I. 99 and therefore will not apply order 22 which is on interrogatories under the C.I. 47.

Tsikata then reacted that “there cannot be a different interpretation of the law just because it is Mr. Mahama that has filed the petition.”

The judges explained that it is the C.I. that makes the difference, and not the individuals involved in the petition.

The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is challenging President Akufo-Addo’s victory in the December 2020 general elections.

According to him, there was no clear winner in the elections as declared by the EC.

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.