Election petition: Deep-minded Jean Mensa Can't Be Intimidated - Sam Pyne
- Former President John Mahama has accused Jean Mensa of rigging the elections
- She was the returning officer in the presidential elections
- She is expected to mount the witness box pretty soon to defend the results she announced on December 9
Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission will soon mount the witness box in the ongoing election petition trial.
Jean Mensa will be testifying to the credibility of the results she declared on December 9, 2020, which gave President Nana Akufo-Addo another four-year term.
Source: Facebook
According to the results as declared by Jean Mensa, Akufo-Addo won the election by collecting over 51% of the valid votes cast.
But John Mahama, the petitioner in the trial disagreed, stating there was no winner in the elections.
He argued that Akufo-Addo only became the victor in the elections because the election management body rigged the elections for him through illegal vote padding and other nefarious conducts.
As Mensa readies to mount the witness box and be cross-examined by the venerable Tsatsu Tsikata, the petitioner’s lead counsel, the country seems to be on edge, waiting impatiently for the exchange that will make or unmake Mahama’s claims and the reliefs he seeks before the country’s apex court.
Commenting on the heightened interest in Mensa’s testimony on Accra-based Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ monitored by YEN.com.gh, Sam Pyne stated that the EC boss will come out of the box with her credibility intact.
The governing NPP’s Ashanti Regional Secretary further noted that she will not be overwhelmed by Tsikata’s shrewdness.
''I know what she's made of; she is very eloquent, very deep-minded. She cannot be intimidated," he stated.
In the meantime, the president and founder of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, urged Mensa to abdicate her post after the petition hearing.
According to him, she lacks the competence to lead the country’s election management body.
“If I were the EC, I'd resign after this court hearing,” he stated in a Facebook post on Wednesday, February 3, 2021.
Cudjoe explained: “It is not healthy to be distrusted by millions of Ghanaians and be guarded by loads of soldiers each time they are going to work.”
“Frankly, I was wrong. My own former boss at the IEA isn't cut out for the EC job,” he added.
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.
Enjoy reading our stories?
Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel!
Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!
New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!
Source: YEN.com.gh
