Mahama petitions Supreme Court to declare run-off
The 2020 NDC flagbearer John Mahama has petitioned the Supreme Court to declare a run-off in the December 7 presidential elections.
A petition filed by his legal counsel, Tony Lithur, says his client has evidence that no candidate satisfied the constitutional requirement to be declared president.
By law, a candidate must obtain 50% plus one to be declared winner of the presidential elections.
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, on December 9th, declared the incumbent Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo president-elect.
On that day, she said he polled 51.59% of the valid votes cast while his arch rival John Mahama obtained 47.36%.
But rejecting the results, John Mahama has maintained they are fictionalised and fraudulent.
A portion of the petitioner’s claim reads;
“The claim that the percentage of votes obtained by 2nd respondent was 51.595% of the total valid votes that she herself distinctively stated to have been 13, 434, 574, was a manifest error as votes cast for 2nd respondent would amount to 50.098% and not the 51.595% erroneously declared,” the petition stated.
After resorting to Street protests for days, the party had finally taken its case to the Supreme Court.
The counsel for the petitioner wants the Supreme Court to order an annulment of the December 9 declaration by the EC and an injunction on president Nana Akufo-Addo from holding himself as president-elect.
The petitioner also wants a mandatory injunction directing the EC to organise another presidential election.
“Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa, Chairperson of 1st respondent and the Returning Officer for the presidential election further declared that “John Dramani Mahama of the NDC obtained 6, 214, 889 votes being 47.366% of the total valid votes cast”
“From the total valid votes cast of 13, 434, 574, petitioners percentage would be 46.260% and not the 47.366% erroneously declared.
“The percentages attributed to all but one of the other candidates by Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa were also incorrect.
“If the total number of valid votes standing to the names of each of the presidential candidates is summed up, this would yield a total number of valid votes cast of 13, 121,111, a figure that is completely missing from the purported declaration by Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa on 9th December 2020, and the purported rectification on 10th December 2020,” the petition read.
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