KPMG BEGINS AUDIT TODAY AFTER CRUNCH MEETING WITH PARTIES,

By Felix Engsalige Nyaaba

KPMG International , the private accounting firm that has been  appointed  by the Supreme Court to serve as referee and  conduct an audit counting into the  presidential election petition  case exhibits will  commence its official work today to find out the exact number of pink sheets that the petitioners have filed before the court.

The date has been set after top management had held a crunch meeting with the four parties yesterday at the judicial services conference room to undertake several modalities as the way of conducting the counting.

At the meeting, KPMG accepted the offer by the Supreme Court of Ghana to serve as referee and conduct fair and proper counting into the number of pink sheets filed by the petitioners all in the category of allegation of malpractices and statutory violations.

The terms of reference to be undertaking in the counting includes the names of the polling stations, the code numbers and the exhibits numbers as labeled by the petitioners and filed before the court.

KPMG Audits today

The Supreme Court on the 9^th of May, 2013, issued an order directed at KPMG, an international accounting firm to conduct an audit counting into the pink sheets filed by the petitioners, following a legal request by Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, legal counsel for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The unanimous decision of the Supreme Court for KPMG to conduct the audit counting aroused when Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the star witness and second petitioner in the presidential election petition case gave a contradictory answer to a question posed by Mr. Tsikta during cross examination with regards to the number of polling station pink sheets the petitioners attached to their affidavits as exhibits before the court.

According to counsel, they have not receive the 11,842 exhibit as  the petitioners have stated in paragraph 44-67 in their affidavit that they have filed a total number of 11,842 polling stations pink sheet as exhibits.

But the witness in answering the question affirmed that they have indeed filed a total of 11,842 polling stations pink sheets and has served on to the respondents with all the exhibits.

Following that confirmatory answer from Bawumia, Mr. Tsikata then requested the Supreme Court to order for an independent body to conduct an audit counting onto the number of polling stations pink sheets filed by the petitioners as exhibits.

The request was granted and the company per the ruling will conduct an unbiased and fair audit account into the pink sheets and transmit its finding results to the court through the registrar of the Supreme Court for determination.

The court in its orders also granted liberty two members each from the parties to be presence during the audit counting of the exhibits at the registry of the court.

Respondents Wants Petitioners Witnesses in Box

The Supreme court yesterday fixed Thursday, May16 to hear the application filed by Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, lead counsel for the third respondent  in the ongoing presidential election petition case seeking  leave of the court to invite some witnesses of the petitioners into the witness box for cross examination.

 According to the nine member panel of the Supreme court Chaired by Mr. Justice William Atuguba, two others respondents in the election petition case,  president John Mahama, the first respondent and the Electoral Commission, the second respondent  has also filed two separate applications for leave of the court to invites some witnesses of the petitioners into the box for question.

The court stated that, the two applications has been fixed for the May 16, 2013 and that it was proper for Mr. Tsikata be added so it could have a collective hearing on all the three application on that day.

The three respondents filed the application seeking to invites some witness of the petitioners who have deposed affidavit sworn by Dr. Bawumia, the star witness in the case.

According to the respondents, the court in its orders as to the mode of trial indicated that, witness who deposed an affidavit would be invited to be cross examining, for the court was only going to rely on affidavit to trial the case.

Following that the respondents took the advantage to cross the petitioner’s witness, one from Savelegu constituency in the Northern region and others from the Ashanti region.

Court warns Bawumia Again

Mr. Justice William Atuguba,  Chairman of the nine member panel of the election petition case yesterday had has to caution the chief witness and second witness in the ongoing presidential election petition case to comply with the court rules and stop battle his case as if he was in the political rally.

The court threw the caution on the witness, when he (witness0 consistently refused to answer straight forward question thrown at him by Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata during his 9^th day of cross examination.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia whop has been in the witness box for 15 days now has been inconsistent in answering question and also have the habit of expanding simply questions which needs yes, or no answers.

Following his theatric answer to question, the presiding judge warned him to  the battling the case as if he was outside the court room,  saying that, “ in court room, if you do not understand the question, ask for clarifications, but not this type of answers, don’t fight your battle beyond the court room.”

The  court told the witness that, while in the witness box, his credibility is at stage and the answers he gave to the court would sum up to determine whether he has a good or bad credibility in his evidence  before the court.

Tsatsu Tsikata Punches

Counsel for the NDC, yesterday took the Bawumia through another hell of question which was all bordered on the duplication of serial numbers on the pink sheets in which the petitioners claimed constituted irregularities and therefore the court should annul results from those pink sheets.

Mr. Tsikata, who earlier has a challenge with  counsel for the petitioners over the list of exhibits he had provided for provision of particulars which was orderd by the court took the witness through a heavy style of question asking the  witness to confirm or otherwise of the duplication of pink sheets to shore up figures to mislead the court.

According to counsel in his cross examination, the over 6,8823 polling stations that the petitioners alleged characterized duplication of pink sheets serial numbers were all in attempt to disenfranchise electorate in those polling stations.

 Mr. Tsikata challenged the petitioners to show the evidence that the case was not brought to court on the line of bad faith after all the allegation were coming from the strong area of the first respondent, President John Mahama.

But Dr Bawumia appeared burden with question than answers therefore resorted to his usual answers, that the results from those polling stations were used only once in their analysis as the reasons for the duplicated pink sheets  of one polling stations used for two or more different exhibits.

Under the cross examination, the witness admitted that there were errors in their labeling of the pink sheets, but added that they were brought into the system as miscellaneous.

The court room later on became hot when counsel for the Petitioners, Mr. Philip Addison engaged Mr. Tsikata in arguments over some documents from the NPP to the EC prior to the declaration of the 2012 presidential results.

After back and forth over the issues, the court adjourned the matter till today at 9;30 am.