Nana Vrs Mahama:Hurdle Cleared...Hearing Of Substantive Election Petition Today

The Supreme Court will resume sitting Tuesday morning to consider, resolve and adopt some issues to be raised by lawyers in the petition contesting the legitimacy of President John Dramani Mahama. Barring any last minute hitch, the court�s sitting is likely to mark the last hurdle to be cleared before the hearing of the substantive petition which is calling for the annulment of 4,670,504 votes cast during the December 2012 presidential polls. During the sitting, the court will arrive at issues for trial and subsequent determination based on the rules of court, the law, consultation with the parties in the case where the need arises, evidence before it and also according to its discretion. In doing that, the court is expected to decide whether or not to immediately reject some, approve all or fix a date to rule on more than 30 issues proposed by the parties to be set aside for determination. The court might in accordance with the law and its discretion not delve into issues agreed on by all the parties in the case. It will concentrate mainly on stalemate matters, resolve those issues and thus pave the way for the hearing of the substantive matter which promises to be a landmark in the legal and political history of the country. Key among the issues to be looked into is whether or not President Mahama or Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was validly elected as President in the December 2012 presidential polls. Another vital issue likely to be adopted by the court is whether or not voting took place without prior biometric verification at many polling stations across the country. The nine-member panel is also expected to consider or reject whether or not the alleged statutory violations, irregularities and/or malpractices introduced 4,670,504 invalid votes into the total number of votes cast in the December 2012 presidential election.