17 July 2013

Election Petition: It’s allover finally


The two sides in the election petition hearing have brought to an end submission of their evidence in the trial paving way for their addresses, which has been slated for July 31, 2013.
The case has been running for the past 46 days since substantive hearing commenced.
The Petitioners - Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his 2012 running mate Dr. Mahamudu and their party’s National Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey - filed to challenge the results of the 2012 presidential poll in the Supreme Court with reason that the election was fraught with too many anomalies which robbed their candidate of victory.
The respondents in the case include President John Mahama, the Electoral Commission (EC) and the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC). The case has seen various witnesses on both sides including Dr. Bawumia, General of the NDC, international accounting firm KPMG and EC Chairman Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan.
In the course of the trial, two people - Managing Editor of the Daily Searchlight Newspaper Kenneth Agyei Kuranchie and a member of the communication team of the NDC, Stephen Atubiga - were sentenced to separate terms in prison for criminal contempt.
Their sentencing for 10 and three days respectively sparked a national debate in the media concerning the law of criminal contempt.
The Supreme Court is expected to pronounce judgment on the matter after the two sides have submitted their addresses to the court on July 31.

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