Hearing of election petition adjourned to tomorrow

The Supreme Court has adjourned the election petition hearing to Wednesday April 17.

This is to enable the petitioners to be served with the sworn affidavits of the respondents.

At the court’s sitting Tuesday morning, the petitioners challenging the 2012 presidential election results called for a short adjournment to enable them receive and study affidavits sworn by witnesses for the respondents.

But lawyers for the President John Dramani Mahama and the Electoral Commission insisted that the petitioners must start their case.

The first and third respondents, President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) filed their sworn affidavits by witnesses Monday, April 15, 2013, a day before the substantive hearing begun.

The second respondent, the Electoral Commission, which is yet to file sworn affidavits of their witnesses,  has up to the close of today to do so.

The panel after a short recess returned and ruled that the hearing be adjourned to tomorrow Wednesday April 17, 2013.

The EC is to file its affidavits for them to be served on the petitioners by close of today.

The court resumes sitting Wednesday for hearing to begin.

Meanwhile, the court has appended its signature to the live coverage proceedings.

It ruled that the question of live TV coverage have a popular support.

“This will erase any misconceptions that there is anything to be hidden by its exclusion”, the President of the panel, Justice William Atuguba said in the court’s ruling.

When the issue of live broadcast was first mooted, the court rejected it but Justice Atuguba today said having allowed those concerns to fester, it has realized that live TV coverage have a popular support.

Story: Enoch Darfah Frimpong/Graphic.com.gh