The Supreme Court has adjourned hearing of the election petition case filed by three leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to Wednesday, April 17, 2013.
This is to enable the petitioners to be served with copies of the affidavits filed by two of the respondents as earlier agreed by the court.
The petitioners argued that the hearing be adjourned because the Electoral Commission is yet to file its affidavit but the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and President Mahama’s lawyers wanted the hearing to proceed.
The petitioners, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the party Chairman, Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey are challenging President John Mahama’s legitimacy and praying the court to annul 4,670,504 votes and subsequently declare the presidential candidate of the NPP, as the one who won the December 2012 elections.
Lead lawyer for the petitioners Philip Addison also argued the affidavits by the second respondent – the Electoral Commission – is crucial and must be served on the petitioners before hearing.
Before Tuesday’s hearing, the President, John Mahama who is the first respondent, and the NDC which is the third, had filed the affidavits but the court was yet to administratively serve the petitioners with copies.
The Electoral Commission which is the second respondent in the case was however yet to file its own affidavits.
Its Lawyer, James Quashie-Idun told the judges they will file their affidavits later today and implored the judges to begin hearing because the burden of proof was with the petitioners.
Lawyer for the NDC, Tsatsu Tsikata also agreed and prayed the court to begin hearing.
Lawyer for the NDC, Tsatsu Tsikata also agreed and prayed the court to begin hearing.
But the judges after recess agreed to adjourn the case to allow for the second respondent to file its own affidavits and for the affidavits by the first and third respondents to be served on the petitioners.
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