Election petition: Dismissal of Mahama’s motion to reopen his case was no surprise - Kwaku Azar
- The Supreme Court has rejected John Mahama’s request to reopen his case
- The petitioner was seeking the court’s leave to reopen his case to subpoena the chairperson of the EC into the witness box
- For the petitioner's counsel, attempts to shield the EC chair from mounting the box for cross-examination would embolden public officials to misbehave knowing they will go scot-free
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Lawyer and Accounting Professor, Stephen Kwaku Asare, has described as unsurprising the dismissal of John Mahama’s application to reopen his case.
Mahama applied to reopen his case to subpoena the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa, into the witness box.
Source: Facebook
The Supreme Court, however, refused the application.
The Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah said the court exercises its inherent jurisdiction inter-alia to correct errors in procedure and to ensure that no miscarriage of justice is occasioned during a trial.
However, the petitioner “has not demonstrated to us in any way that the decision of the respondent not to testify which was upheld by this court in its ruling of 11 February 2021 has occasioned in any miscarriage of justice.”
Commenting on the court’s ruling, Professor Asare [Kwaku Azar] wrote on his social media handle, “No surprise!”
He continued: “Another unanimous dismissal of the Petitioner’s application to subpoena the election manager.
“This goes with the unanimous rejection of the petitioner’s request for production, interrogatories, and request for admissions from the election manager.”
According to the law professor, the petitioner was within its right to file further processes. “But if you cannot get discovery and you cannot examine the election manager, what exactly do you expect to get from the Court?
“If they would have given you more they would have started by giving you a full plate.”
The NDC flagbearer John Dramani Mahama petitioned the Supreme Court to order a second round of the December 7 elections.
According to him, the votes obtained by NPP’s candidate, President Nana Akufo-Addo, and himself in the December 7, election as declared by the EC Chair were not enough for a candidate to be declared the winner.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
