Counsel for President Akufo-Addo, Mr Akoto Ampaw, popularly known as ‘Sheshe’, and that of former President John Mahama, Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, are expected to exhibit legal prowess they are noted for today, as the Supreme Court begins hearing of the election petition.
The court is expected to go through the pre-trial and case management structure today.
It is also likely to allow the respondents to raise their preliminary legal objections to the petition.
Among others, the 2nd Respondent avers their objection would be based on the grounds upon which the petition was based, which, in his view, did not meet the requirement imposed on a petitioner under article 64 (1) of the 1992 Constitution.
The 2nd Respondent, in its notice to raise a preliminary objection, said paragraphs 6 through to 30 of the petition recounted allegations of mathematical errors contained in parts of the declaration made by the Chairman of the EC, and that in law a challenge of the declaration of results of an election did not amount to an attack on the validity of it.
The 1st Respondent would also raise a preliminary legal objection to the petition as being incompetent and not, as required by Article 64(1) of the Constitution and Rule 68(1) of the Supreme Court Rules, 1996 (C.I. 16) as amended, amounting to a challenge of the validity of the presidential election conducted by the 1st Respondent Commission on 7th December 2020.
The preliminary legal objections, if granted by the court, may end the case in the early days.
The court, last Thursday, was adjourned the case to today to enable corrections to be made and filed by the parties involved in the case.
The amendment, occasioned by the petitioner, was to amend mistakes, where the first and second respondents, Electoral Commission and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo respectively, were misrepresented in portions of the petition.
The petitioner, John Dramani Mahama, in his petition, erroneously requested the court to allow a re-run of the presidential election between him and the 1st Respondent, the Electoral Commission. This, the petitioner, through his lawyers, Tsatsu Tsikata and Tony Lithur, moved a motion last Thursday to amend.
Though the 1st and 2nd Respondents, through their lead counsel, Justin Amenuvor and Akoto Ampaw respectively, had objected to the motion, the seven-member panel, headed by the Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, did not side with them.
Lead counsel for the 2nd Respondent, Lawyer Akoto Ampaw, had argued that the petitioner was in court because of a supposed error by the 1st Respondent, but the petitioner also made errors in his petition.
Meanwhile, the court held that the amendment would not materially affect the substance of the matter, and, as such granted, the motion to go ahead.
The court thus permitted the petitioner to file the amendment by 4pm last week Thursday, and also permitted the respondents to, if they may want to, amend their response to go with the amendment. They could do so by close of the following day, Friday, January 15, 2020.
Lawyers for the petitioner have amended their petition, and, accordingly, the respondents, through their lawyers, have prepared and filed their responses to the amended election petition, The Chronicle understands.
The seven-member panel of judges hearing the petition are Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah, Justices Yaw Appau, Marful Sau, Ashie Kotei, Mariama Owusu, Nene Amegatcher and Gertrude Torkornoo
The post Ampaw, Tsatsu To Exhibit Legal Prowess appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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