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The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of lying to its supporters that the opposition party won the 2020 General Elections by going further to describe their flagbearer as President-elect, yet surprisingly filed a petition asking for a re-run of the Presidential polls.

Leader and flagbearer of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama, on Wednesday, caused his lawyers to file a Petition in the Supreme Court of Ghana to challenge the 2020 Presidential Election Results Declaration by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.

The Petition was filed pursuant to the party‘s audit of the 2020 Presidential results and extensive consultations with the National Executive Committee and Council of Elders of the party.

The Petition details serious violations of the 1992 Constitution by the EC and its Chairperson and Returning Officer for the Presidential Election, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa in the conduct of the elections, and seeks among others, a declaration from the Supreme Court to the effect that, the purported announcement of the results of the 2020 Presidential Election on the 9th day of December 2020, is unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

Mr Mahama's legal team also wants the Supreme Court to restrain his opponent Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo from holding himself out as president-elect and call for a re-run of the Presidential Electons.

A statement signed by Communications Director for the NPP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, assured its teeming supporters and Ghanaians of their Presidential candidate's preparedness for the legal showdown and vowed to "expose the emptiness of John Mahama’s Petition and the NDC’s denial of the electoral truth".

"Our response will show that the NDC has presented no material evidence of value in Court to support its blatantly false claims regarding the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. They lied to their supporters that they had won and started referring to John Dramani Mahama falsely as the President-Elect. Now they have backtracked, settling futilely for a run-off which they themselves know will not happen," portions of the statement read.

The statement further lampooned John Mahama’s petition that seeks to correct the errors in the figures announced by the EC during its declaration of Nana Akufo-Addo as President-elect, describing it as error-ridden.

"....It is quite curious that John Dramani Mahama, the NDC flagbearer and Petitioner, who grounds his Petition on supposed errors made by the Electoral Commission, has himself submitted a Petition fraught with errors, including requesting a run-off between himself and the Electoral Commission," it added.

The ruling party also reminded the ex-president that Ghanaians will hold him "accountable to his sacred undertaking to comply with the Peace Pact," and impressed on him to "immediately retract his inciteful statements to his supporters".

"It is highly irresponsible of John Dramani Mahama to commence the judicial process yet still admonish his supporters to continue with the violent protests that have threatened the security and peace of Ghanaians and caused Ghanaians to live in unnecessary fear and panic over the past few weeks. The good people of Ghana hold John Dramani Mahama accountable to his sacred undertaking to comply with the Peace Pact, just as H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo did in 2012 and 2016.

"Indeed, when NPP filed a Petition in 2012, we notably admonished our supporters not to hit the streets and they did not hit the streets. In fact, this was acknowledged by John Dramani Mahama’s Foreign Minister then, Hannah Tetteh, who said to investors in Dubai on May 2, 2013: “Our elections have been challenged but they are being challenged in court, they are not being challenged in the streets and whatever is the outcome of the court’s decision, we will all go along with it as political parties,” it alluded.