Election petition: Three key takeaways from Thursday fiery hearing
The Supreme Court has adjourned sitting in the ongoing 2020 election trial to Monday, 1 February 2021.
Former President John Mahama on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, filed a petition before the Apex Court to challenge the outcome of the 2020 presidential race.
Source: Facebook
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.
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In this article, YEN.com.gh presents three key highlights of the Thursday, January 28, 2021, hearing.
1. Dismissal of application for a review
The Court in a 9-0 unanimous ruling dismissed Mahama’s application for a review. The said application bothers on whether the Court's trial panel erred fundamentally when it held that the Mahama’s interrogatories to the Electoral Commission did not meet the test of relevancy.
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Election petition: Figures were just thrown out to give Akufo-Addo victory - Tsatsu Tsikata
2. Additional ground for a review application
The Court’s dismissal of this application was the precursor for what to follow with regards to the review application. This incensed the lead counsel for the petitioner, Tsatsu Tsikata, who told the Court that “there cannot be a different interpretation of the law just because it is John Mahama who filed the petition."
3. Determining the authenticity of the 2020 presidential results
Tsikata argued copiously that the Court’s earlier decision to dismiss the application of the petitioner to ask the EC 12 question was an “error.”
In his view, the interrogatories would be critical in helping the Apex Court determine the authenticity of the results as declared by the EC.
He further argued that there was nothing in the new rules that displaced the ordinary rules related to interrogatories, adding that the cause of justice will be hindered by the denial of their application.
In other news, a 37-year-old Ghanaian CEO called Samuel Mensah who was based in the United Kingdom has died of the novel coronavirus after a scheduled interview on the virus.
According to Good Evening Ghana's verified Facebook handle who confirmed the news of Samuel's passing, the deceased was billed to be interviewed on Metro TV on Thursday, January 28, 2021, at 9 pm.
Sadly, Paul Adom-Otchere later announced that Sam himself has passed on as a result of the coronavirus which he contracted earlier.
Samuel Mensah was the second generation CEO of Uncle John Bakery in the United Kingdom, which is the largest Ghanaian-owned bakery in the whole of Europe.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
