President Nana Akufo-Addo has said the “unanimous” judgment of the Supreme Court in the recently-ended election petition through which former President John Mahama challenged his re-election, was “lucid” and “well-considered”.
The President made the remark when he swore in 28 new ministers for his second term at the Jubilee House, Accra, on Friday, 5 March 2021.
“I am confident that together, we will work to realise the vision of the mandate given to me by the Ghanaian people in the victory of 7 December 2020, a victory which yesterday [Thursday], 4th March, was unanimously upheld in the lucid, well-considered judgment by a 7-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by the Chief Justice,” he said.
The court upheld the results of last year’s presidential election, saying the petitioner, Mr. Mahama, failed to prove that the winner did not cross the constitutionally-required threshold of more than 50 percent of the valid votes cast.
The ruling means President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will continue in office as President until his second term is over.
Nana Akufo-Addo polled 51.3 percent of the valid votes, according to figures from the Electoral Commission while Mr Mahama, who was the 2020 flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), polled 47 percent.
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Delivering the judgment, Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah said: “The petition is dismissed as without merit.”
According to the court, the correction of an error by the Chairperson of the EC, Mrs Jean Mensa, concerning the total number of valid votes cast, was within her mandate and did not affect the will of the people.
Also, the court said Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the NDC and first witness of the petitioner, admitted in court during his cross-examination that per the EC’s figures, Nana Akufo-Addo crossed the more-than-50 per cent threshold.
The Bench also said no credible evidence was adduced by the petitioner to contradict the figures announced by the EC.
Furthermore, the court said the figures announced by the EC were “right and represented the will of the people”.
It noted that the petitioner only complained of errors but failed to provide evidence to back those claims that none of the two candidates passed the more-than-50 per cent threshold.
Additionally, the Bench said the allegation of vote-padding was not proven by any evidence, adding that even if it were, it would not have had any significant impact on the results as announced by the EC Chairperson.
Mr Mahama went to court to challenge the result of the 2020 polls after the EC declared Mr Akufo-Addo winner on 9 December 2020.
He argued that neither he nor President Akufo-Addo crossed the threshold to be declared winner.
He, therefore, did not understand why the EC declared Nana Akufo-Addo the winner and the President-elect.
Mr. Mahama had prayed the Supreme Court to order a rerun of the election between himself and Nana Akufo-Addo.
