Election petition: Supreme Court grants Mahama’s motion to amend errors
The Supreme Court has granted former President John Dramani Mahama’s motion to amend errors in his electoral petition seeking to overturn results of the 2020 presidential election.
The 2020 NDC flagbearer has until 4 pm today (Thursday) to file the corrected petition.
The respondents (Electoral Commission and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo) have till Friday, January 15, to file their response once again.
However, the substantive case starts on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, to decide the legitimacy of the results of the 2020 election.
This was after counsel for the petitioner Tsatsu Tsikata asked the court’s permission to have the petitioner make the necessary changes.
“It is quite clear in the petition, there are a couple of places we should have written second respondent (Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo) instead of the first respondent (Electoral Commission).
“It is our prayer that the court grants us the request to effect the changes,” Mr Tsikata asked of the court.
But his submission was greeted with strong opposition from Counsel for the Electoral Commission, Justin Amenuvor, and President Akufo-Addo’s lawyer, Akoto Ampaw.
The apex court, however, ruled in favour of the petitioners and granted the request.
It was the case of the apex court that the amendment would not affect the substantive case in contention and the opposing parties must also be kind as “it is possible for human beings to all make mistakes”.
On January 8, 2021, the former President John Dramani Mahama filed a motion for the Supreme Court to allow him correct errors in the election petition he filed challenging the presidential results declared in President Akufo-Addo’s favour.
The motion for amendment is seeking the permission of the apex court to correct a mistake in relief (f) of the election petition.
In the election petition filed on December 30, 2020, the first respondent (1st) was the Electoral Commission (EC), with the second respondent (2nd) being President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
However, relief (f) wants the court to order a rerun between Mahama and the first respondent, which as stated in the petition turns out to be the EC.
Relief (f) is seeking “an order of mandatory injunction directing the first respondent to proceed to conduct a second election with petitioner and first respondent as the candidates as required under Articles 63(4) and (5) of the 1992 Constitution.”
It is this mistake that the NDC Flagbearer wants to correct.
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This is the second time in Ghana’s Fourth Republican history that an election is being challenged. In 2012, the NPP challenged the result of that year’s election, claiming it was fraught with abnormalities that should have it nullified.
But the court disagreed and affirmed the election of John Dramani Mahama as the duly elected President.
However, eight years later, it is a reverse fortune for Mr Mahama as also goes to the Supreme Court seeking to torpedo the results announced by the Electoral Commission on December 9, 2020.