NDC MP: Supreme Court Does Not Have Power To Declare Anyone President

The Member of Parliament for Amenfi Central on the ticket of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. George Arthur has stated that the perception which has been peddled that it is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to determine the winner in the ongoing 2012 election petition is not true. The chairman of Parliamentary Select Committee on Defense assured Ghanaians that the perception is not true because the declaration of President is not done by the court but by the Electoral Commission. Making his submission on Okay FM, he said that the case in the Supreme Court will not be known to Ghanaians who the President is after the court ruling because the power does not lie in the hands of the judges. He further said that the pink sheet is just a written paper and that whether what is written is true or not cannot be based on the addition of the papers as the NPP are canvassing to their followers; adding that if the court annul the results on the pink sheets, he does not see how only the President should be affected but should be the entire parties involve. He however said that the petitioners only sent pink sheets where the NDC won the election to the Supreme Court; stressing that the NPP want to tell Ghanaians that problems occurred in areas where their party loses to the NDC. He therefore said that it is not the number of pink sheets presented to the Supreme Court which will determine the winner in the ongoing 2012 election petition but the results on them which the court will look at in order to determine who the EC should declare the winner of the 2012 election. According to him as it stands now in the constitution, the President of the Republic of Ghana is President Mahama; adding that there can never be a situation in the history of election where there has not been a single mistake recorded in the country. Moreover, he said that the addition of one vote should not make the entire votes be annulled but to him what will be done is that the extra one would be taken out and the rest maintained; reiterating �that those who think that the Supreme Court will cancel the entire votes because of one or two votes in addition should forget it because it will not happen that the mistakes on the pink sheet will make the NPP win the election�. He averred that it is not in court that declaration will be made and neither will the number of pink sheets presented by the petitioners in court will determine the winner; adding that this case cannot call for re-election in the entire country but possibly those affected areas.