Former President John Dramani Mahama has assured that he and the rank and file of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will not do anything to disturb the peace and stability of the country in spite of his disagreement with the Supreme Court’s ruling of his 2020 election petition.
Mr Mahama went to the apex court to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election as declared by the chair of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa on December 9, 2020.
But in a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday March 4, 2021, the Supreme Court affirmed Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as a validly elected President of Ghana.
The court said the petitioner, John Dramani Mahama did not demonstrate in any way how the alleged errors made by the Electoral Commission (EC) in the declaration of the presidential election results by the chairperson of the EC, Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensa affected the outcome of the election.
“The petitioner has not produced any evidence to re-butt the presumption created by the publication of the C.I. 135”, for which the court said the petitioner wanted a re-run to be made.
In effect, the Supreme Court said there is no reason to order a re-run, as one of the reliefs by the petitioner and dismissed the petition as having no merit.
In a televised address barely six hours after the apex court’s ruling, Mr Mahama said, “I disagree with the suggestion of our Justices that an election petition is akin to any other civil litigation and therefore an EC Chairperson, whose functions go to the heart of our democracy, can by a legal sleight of hand avoid accounting for her stewardship in an appropriate forum such as the highest court of the land,” Mr Mahama said whilst reacting to the verdict Thursday evening.
“Our legal team, led by Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, put together our case in a clear manner, which left no one in doubt about what the issues were. Apart from seeking to ensure compliance with the constitution and for the true choice of the people of Ghana to be respected, the Petition sought to provide opportunity for transparency and accountability in the management of our electoral processes.”
However, Mr Mahama assured that he, the leadership of the opposition NDC and its members will not anything to compromise the stability of the country.
“We will be law abiding and do nothing to compromise the stability of the country. We will however continue to be the voice of the voiceless and will not be distracted demanding justice and fairness at all times. Neither will we surrender or fail to champion the rights of all our people to enjoy the fundamental freedoms guaranteed under our constitution.”
Source:A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHZ|Ghana
