Justice Atuguba: Divine guidance decided 2012 election petition
Retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice William Atuguba has insisted that the verdict of the 2012 presidential election petition was decided by the Supreme Court through divine guidance.
The Supreme Court’s verdict of the presidential election petition endorsed the victory of the then President John Mahama after the December 7, 2012 general elections.
Mr Justice Atuguba indicated that through prayer and guidance in deciding the verdict, the country was not plunged into chaos and violence saying “When the decision came, there was peace total peace in the country, I was, and however, saddened by the vilification after former President Mahama’s victory was upheld.
Speaking on the presidential election petition at a lecture series organised by the Catholic Church, he declared that “the presidential election petition was decided through prayer by the panel, as for the vilifications, they are unending and sometimes most painful, you can’t believe some human beings are capable of diabolical behaviour.”
The then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by Dr Muhammadu Bawumia, argued that they had every reason to believe that the results were rigged in favour of the National Democratic Congress’ (NDCs’) Mr Mahama.
They prayed the court to declare their candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo as President with unpardonable malpractices and irregularities at 10,119 polling stations justified the nullification of 3,931,339 valid votes, which, the petitioners contended, would have beaten down former President Mahama’s votes and overturned the declared results by the Electoral Commission.
According to the NPP’s pleadings, over-voting occurred at 1,722 polling stations, while voting without biometric verification occurred at 2,020 polling stations and claimed presiding officers did not also sign pink sheets at 1,638 polling stations, while the use of duplicate serial numbers on pink sheets affected 8,987 polling stations.
The petitioners further argued that if the results of the 10,119 polling stations were annulled, President Mahama’s votes would have reduced by 2,622,551, which would have, in turn, beaten down the results declared by the Electoral Commission in his favour, to 41.79 per cent.
They said although Nana Akufo-Addo’s votes would have, in like manner, been reduced by 1,233,186, he would have nonetheless secured 56.85 per cent, per their permutations, to cross the 50 per cent mark for victory.
But the nine panel Supreme Court, in its ruling read by the President of the panel, Justice Atuguba, upheld former President Mahama’s victory.
The other justices who sat on the case included Justices Julius Ansah, Sophia Adinyira, Rose Constance Owusu, Jones Victor Dotse, Anin Yeboah, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, N. S. Gbadegbe and Vida Akoto-Bamfo. –classfmonline.com
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