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Deputy Minister of Information, Felix Ofosu Kwakye has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of deliberately duplicating, and in some instances quadruplicating, pink sheets just to make up for the numbers they quoted in the ongoing election petition at the Supreme Court. He also doubted claims by the key witness in the case, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia that he did not use the duplicated pink sheets in his analysis. The lead counsel for the third respondents, Tsatsu Tsikata has come under flak, mainly from the opposition NPP, for what they claim is his unnecessary repetition of questions over duplicated pink sheets and delaying the court process. But speaking on Joy FM�s flagship programme Newsfile last Saturday, Ofosu Kwakye inferred that members of the opposition are uncomfortable with the counsel�s style because he has succeeded in exposing the supposed evidence. He also refuted claims that Mr. Tsikata was playing to the gallery. �Rather�, Tsikata �has succeeded in inflicting severe damage on the case of the petitioners.� The Deputy Minister also stated that the counsel has so far been successful in punching holes and causing Dr. Bawumia, in the witness box, to admit to �numerous mistakes� made by the petitioners. He averred: �We have said that the NPP indeed had absolutely no evidence to back the claims they are making, and they have only sought to duplicate pink sheets to make up for the numbers that they claimed they have to prove that there was something wrong with the election. �And how do you establish that than to pull out the pink sheets and get the witness to admit that indeed these are my own pink sheets and I made the mistakes.� Ofosu Kwakye buttressed his point by reading out a statement purported to have been made by the third petitioner and chairman of the NPP, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, which sought to indict President Mahama for conspiring with the Electoral Commission (EC) to falsify the 2012 election results. The NPP, however, dropped that allegation in its election petition. �It underscores the position we have taken that this whole court case is frivolous and that the NPP have simply photocopied pink sheets and brought them to say that they have evidence of electoral malpractices,� he asserted. He further charged that based on various allegations made by the NPP immediately after the election and yet could not go to court with them, they �cannot be trusted to provide any credible evidence to back the claims that they are making�. However, Malik Kweku Baako, Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide Newspaper, claimed Mr. Tsikata adopted his style of cross-examination just to appease the NDC foot soldiers, who had hitherto trumpeted him as their man to rain fire and brimstone on the witness. By his observation, he said after the counsel had failed to make headway in the supposed letter signed by the first petitioner requesting the EC to accredit polling agents for one of the �unknown� polling stations, ��that for me was a sign that there were no questions really for him to ask�. Rather Mr. Tsikata chose to continue with his cross-examination in order to live up to the earlier �hype�, he said. Mr. Baako, however, admitted that the counsel had succeeded in getting the �court of public opinion� on his side with the repetitive questions bothering on duplicated pink sheets. According to him, Tsatsu Tsikata could have simply followed the court directive by pointing out two or three spotted errors in the petitioners� exhibits and supply the list of the remaining to the court. �I think there was more of a mixture of showmanship, heat and playing to the gallery relative to Mr. Tsikata�s cross-examination, it�s had the desired effect with their foot soldiers but it has had minimal impact as far as the basic issues, the substance of the issue is concerned. That is my candid opinion about the situation.�