The Spokesperson for the respondents in the presidential
election petition, Nana Ato Dadzie, has described the Supreme
Court’s judgement on the case as a victory for all
Ghanaians.
He said although it was the National Democratic Congress
(NDC) that won the court case the victory was for the whole of
Ghana.
“It is Ghana that has won,” he said to journalists shortly
after the verdict, and urged NDC supporters to be responsible in
their jubilation.
“This victory is for all Ghanaians, it is not for NDC people
alone. We are all our brothers’ keepers and we are one people,” he
stressed.
Mr Dadzie described the petitioners as “our friends”, noting
that they had done well but like sportsmen they had to take the
defeat in good faith.
He said once there would be another election, the NPP could
try its luck next time.
“Good luck to them but for now the Supreme Court has
pronounced that the NDC has won the case. Mr John Mahama remains
validly elected as President of the Republic of Ghana and I expect
that everybody will now put his hand to the wheel”.
Petitioners’ spokesman
The spokesperson for the petitioners, Mr Akoto Ampaw, said
what was clear was the court’s decision that President John Dramani
Mahama was validly elected, and the petition was accordingly
dismissed.
“That is the decision of the court. In terms of the
specifics, we would need to study the written addresses and the
summary that the President of the panel delivered. For now that is
what we can say.”
On commendation of the party for the efforts it made in going
to court, he said, that was fairly normal.
Mr Ampaw said he had no doubt that the case had raised very
serious issues about accountability, as well as the need for the
electoral process to be free of all violations.
“It is our expectation that going forward, there would be the
necessary reforms. For now we can only say that this was a final
indication of the court’s decision.
“We would be looking at the written opinion of the nine
justices and then the petitioners would advise themselves
accordingly,” he said.
Lawyer for President Mahama
For his part, President Mahama’s counsel, Mr Tony Lithur,
said, “we are happy for the outcome and we look forward to a united
country”.
Lawyer for NDC
Lawyer for the NDC, Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, commended the
volunteers who aided the legal team of the NDC, particularly on the
issue of the number of pink sheets.
On December 28, 2012, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the NPP
flag bearer for Election 2012, his running mate, Dr Mahamudu
Bawumia, and the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake
Obetsebi-Lamptey, filed the petition at the Supreme Court
challenging the declaration of President John Dramani Mahama as
winner of the election.
