Election Petitioners file address in soft and hard copies
The petitioners challenging the declaration of John Dramani Mahama as President have filed their written address at the Supreme Court Registry.
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Daily Graphic’s Court Correspondent, Mabel Aku Banaseh reported that the address was more than 100 pages.
She said the petitioners filed both electronic and hard copies.
They were submitted to the Supreme Court’s Registry in 16 separate boxes.
The nine judges on the case are expected to receive a box each, one for the office of the court registry and one for the Judicial Secretary.
All respondents are however yet to file their addresses. They have up to the close of work today to do so.
NDC also file written address
The third respondent, the National Democratice Congress has also filed their written address.
Mr Victor Adawudu, a member of communication team for the respondents filed the address on behalf of the third respondent.
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July 30, 2013 fixed for filing of addresses simultaneously
As per the rules, the court, on July 17, 2013, gave lawyers in the case up to July 30, 2013 to file their addresses simultaneously.
Addresses are usually filed by parties in both civil and criminal cases after evidence has been led in a case.
The court will resume sitting tomorrow (July 31, 2013) to iron out issues that might arise and finally give a date for its judgement.
Electoral irregularities of over-voting, persons voting without undergoing biometric verification, some presiding officers not signing pink sheets and some pink sheets having duplicate serial numbers have been alleged by the petitioners, but the respondents have refuted the allegations.
The petitioners have since led evidence to justify why the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, should be declared President, but the respondents have cross-examined the petitioners and also led evidence to counter the claims.
Petitioner's 176 pages address
Meanwhile, a press release from the office of the New Patriotic Party has said that the writting address spans some 176 pages and that it, cites over 60 authorities and spells out the case for the petitioners.
Issues tackled so far
Hearing and disposal of preliminary issues took place between January 10, 2013 and April 2, 2013.
Issues that were determined during the period included the NDC’s application to join the petition, the court’s permission to the petitioners to amend their petition, the grant of the respondents’ application for the petitioners to furnish them with further and better particulars and the refusal of the court to allow the petitioners to inspect and make photocopies of collation forms for 275 constituencies.
Other issues disposed of by the court during the period also comprised the blocking of 327 persons from joining the petition to support President Mahama, filing and amendment of pleadings by the parties and the court’s subsequent setting out of two issues for determination, among many other issues.
In all the court disposed of more than 21 applications after 10 days of sitting.
With all interlocutory issues resolved, the hearing of the substantive petition ended exactly three months from the day it began. It began on April 17, 2013 and ended on July 17, 2013.
Another significant observation was that the petitioners and the EC, who are the main actors in the petition, took only two days to lead their witnesses in evidence, but their witnesses were each subjected to 13 and 14 days of cross-examination respectively.
By Graphic.com.gh / Ghana
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