MP Demands �Pink Sheets�

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemang Lower Denkyira in the Central region, Foster Joseph Andoh is demanding substantial evidence from the parliamentary candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to back his claim of fraud in the parliamentary elections held in the area in December 2012. Like his party, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), the MP demanded �further and better particulars� to the petition filed at a High Court in Cape Coast. In a motion on notice for further and better particulars and for leave to file answer out of time, counsel for the MP, Tony Lithur prayed the court for an order directed at the petitioner, Lawrence Agyinsam to furnish them with �further and better particulars� as stated therein. He prayed the court to order the petitioner to state specifically the various breaches of the law and the specific laws that were breached and the particular polling stations where the irregularities occurred and their code numbers. Apart from that, the NDC MP is also demanding the name and code of each polling station where the alleged �several instances of gross and fragrant breaches of statutory provisions and regulations regulating the conduct of the December 2012 parliamentary elections in the Hemang Lower Denkyira constituency took place. Mr. Andoh further asked the court to order the petitioner to provide him with the name and code of each polling station where the Electoral Commission (EC), which is second respondent in the case, permitted voting to take place without prior biometric verification and the number of people in each polling station who voted without prior biometric verification. Furthermore, he prayed the court to order the opposition party�s candidate to furnish him with the name and code of polling stations where votes were unlawfully taken into account in the declaration of the results in the constituency and the number of the said votes which were unlawfully taken into account in the declaration of the results. Also on demand are details about the number of ballots issued to voters in the constituency, the number of spoilt votes from all polling stations, the name and code of the polling stations where Presiding Officers did not sign the declaration forms and the number of voters affected in each polling station where the Presiding Officers did not sign the declaration forms. The court is set to sit today, Monday, March 22, 2013 to determine the case. Plea In an affidavit in support of the motion, the MP pleaded that he was unable to file an answer to the petition within the time permitted by the rules of the court as a result of the failure of his opponent, the NPP candidate to respond to his request for further and better particulars and not out of disregard for the rules of the court. �I have been advised by counsel and verily believe same to be true that the further and better particulars I have requested for are material facts which we are entitled to, and which if provided, will enable us respond to the petition and assist us prepare for the trial. Also, the particulars if provided will facilitate a fair disposal of the matters raised in the instant petition,� he emphasized. He therefore prayed the court to order the petitioner to furnish him with the aforementioned documents and a further order to grant him leave to file his response out of time upon receipt of the particulars from Mr. Agyinsam, who is represented by lawyer Egbert Faibille Jnr of Faibille & Faibille, Constance Chambers in Accra.