Attempt to annul votes is in bad faith – Coalition
A political pressure group, the Coalition of Ghanaian voters, on Thursday registered a protest at current effort seeking to annul the votes of 4.6 million Ghanaians of the last December poll, saying the attempt was in bad faith.
“Our coalition believes that the right to vote is absolute and that the vote of one citizen, let alone 4.6 million, should not be annulled on the basis of selective justice and subjective definitions,” Dr Clement Apaak, Convener and Spokesperson of the Coalition, stated at a press conference in Accra.
The Coalition organised the press conference to state their observations and concerns on the current court petition by the largest minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) challenging the declaration of President John Dramani Mahama as winner of the last December Ghana’s poll conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC).
The NPP says the EC rigged the election in favour of President Mahama, but the Coalition is questioning if it was “fair to void the votes of citizens on the basis of supposed irregularities and violations they cannot be held for.”
Dr Apaak, who announced he was stepping down as the Convener for the Forum for Freedom and Justice, recalled that the evolution of the narrative used to justify the current action in court all started with an accusation at the Dome Kwabenya Constituency by the NPP.
“The claim was that the votes of the First Respondent (President Mahama) were padded, while those of the First Petitioner (Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo) were reduced. It was suggested that votes of the First Petitioner were plainly given to the First Respondent.
“… It was this claim of padding, claimed to have been uncovered in other parts of the country, which was the pretext for the futile attempt to prevent the Electoral Commissioner from declaring the results of the Presidential Poll on December 9, 2012,” Dr Apaak said.
He pointed to the knowledge of the Coalition, no mention of padding had been made in the petition hearing in court so far, asking that “have you not wondered why the places where the padding and reduction were claimed to have occurred have not been mentioned since?“
The Coalition called on the Members of Parliament on the side of the NPP to apologise to the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for vilifying the NDC, despite by what it said was an admission by Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, the NPP Vice Presidential Candidate that no stealing occurred.
The Coalition said the justices handling the proceedings had been fair, even handed and asserted their authority, but stated that it was worried by discourse outside the courtroom, calling commentators, especially political activists to do with circumspection.
The Coalition also commended Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene and Dr Edward Mahama, former leader of the People’s National Convention for their advice to the political parties and their supporters to accept the outcome to election petition.
Mr Akwasi Addai Odike, Presidential Candidate of the United Front Party in the 2012 elections, and a member of the Coalition, said the petitioners could not challenge the results on the basis of pink sheets, since the law asked for the results to be challenged through challenge forms on the same day.
Mr Kofi Akpaloo, Leader and Founder of the Independent People’s Party, and also a member of the Coalition, questioned the basis for using pink sheets to challenge the election results, arguing that there was no substance in all the things they took to court.
“I don’t know where they got the idea from to contest on pink sheets,” he said.
To Madam Akua Donkor, Leader and Founder of the Ghana Freedom Party, President Mahama was God-chosen, and there was no need to challenge his election, which she explained could spark violence.
Source: GNA