NPP's Election Petition: Supreme Court Adjourns Hearing To Thursday

The Supreme Court of Ghana has adjourned to Thursday, 31st January, 2013, the case in which lawyers of the President and the Electoral Commission (EC) are requesting Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr Bawumia and Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, who are challenging the 2012 election results, to furnish them with 'further and better particulars' on their petition. All parties in the petition challenging the results of the December 7, 2012 presidential election are making a number of demands from the NPP who filed the petition. The Electoral Commission (EC), which presided over the election and is the second respondent in the petition; President John Dramani Mahama, who has been dragged into the petition as the first respondent and the NDC are all demanding additional documents to enable them put up solid cases. The respondents to the petition filed a motion, praying the Supreme Court to direct the petitioners to furnish it with �further and better� particulars of polling stations the alleged irregularities took place. The motion, which was filed on the president's behalf on January 22, 2013, further urges the court to order the petitioners to state the number of votes cast in favour of Nana Akufo-Addo in said polling stations and/or constituencies, as well as the total number of polling stations and/or constituencies where votes cast in favour of President Mahama were alleged to have been "illegally padded." The President is seeking an order directing the petitioners to supply the court with "the identities, offices and, if applicable, political affiliation or other connection to any of the parties herein of the persons who it is alleged illegally padded the results" in his favour. President Mahama, who insists he won the elections freely and fairly under the watchful eye of the media and domestic and international election observers, is asking the court to order the petitioners to cite "the name and code of each polling station, constituency and region where it is alleged that voting took place without biometric verification", as well as the number of voters in each polling station who voted without biometric verification. The petitioners are also asking for declaration forms for all polling stations in the 2012 presidential election, minutes of all meetings held between the EC and the political parties between 2010 and 2012, as well as the special voters list used in the 2012 presidential election. The Supreme Court however ruled that the NDC should file a motion for further particulars for the party to be able to raise objections in the election fraud case and adjourned hearing to Thursday, 31st January 2013. More soon...