PETITIONERS ARE ON MASSIVE DECEIPTION, SAYS TSATSU TSIKATA

By Felix Engsalige Nyaaba

Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, lead counsel for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) yesterday concluded his cross examination of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the petitioner’s chief witness  in the ongoing presidential election petition hearing case at the Supreme Court, while awaiting the audit report on the counting of the disputed pink sheets by KPMG international..

Mr. Tsikata who took over the cross examination baton from  the lead counsel  of the Electoral Commission (EC), second respondent in the case,  spent 13 days in  his cross examination on the petitioners star witness.

The 13 days marathon cross examination was bordered  on the various  allegation of  election malpractices , statutory violation and irregularities  including over voting, voting without biometric verification devices, non signatures of presiding officers  and non existence of about 23 polling stations in the 2012 presidential elections.

Concluding his cross examination, the NDC legal counsel accused the petitioners for embarking on massive deceptive method with quadruple duplicate election results booklet also known as pink sheets to make their case before the Supreme Court.

He told the nine member panel of the Supreme Court that, though he had ended his cross examination on the witness he would be further cross examining the witness when the finding report of the disputed pink sheets by the KPMG is submitted to the court and made ready for parties.

After questioning the witness on some duplicated serial numbers exhibits, counsel told the court that,” my Lords, I think I would conclude my cross examination on the witness now, but subject to the report of the audit counting by KPMG, as your Lordships had ordered.”

During the entire [period of cross examination, Mr. Tsikata punches holds in the petitioners case, labeling all the allegation and the duplication of pink sheets from same polling station for different exhibits by the petitioners as dishonesty and incredible  for which in his view has no grounds to overturn the  2012 presidential results.

He told the Supreme Court in his argument that, the petitioners was embarking on habitual practices of always going to the court to seek redress anytime they loss election, and that the petition before the court was nothing but was brought in bad faith since the allegations and the affected polling stations were centered on the stronghold of the first respondent, president John Mahama.

Counsel in contention also told the court that, the petitioners was embarking on practices to achieve what they did not achieve through the ballots box and that the court should not entertain the petitioners for their allegation of election violation was far from the truth since they failed to provide substantial evidence.

Smuggle of 7 Boxes Pink Sheets

The Supreme Court yesterday directed the three respondents in the election petition case to take their complaints about the alleged smuggling of   seven boxes on to the auditing of the pink sheets to court appointed auditors, KPMG for redress.

The three respondent counsels, had applied to the court asking the court to among of others things order for the tighten control in the auditing of the pink sheets by KPMG, claiming that there were additional number of boxes of pink sheets at the Court registry that have been added onto the already boxes which was to be audited by the selected referee.

According to the respondents, prior to the counting of the pink sheets there was an inventory at the court registry which revealed a total number of 24 boxes containing the pink sheets for the audit counting by the appointed referee, the KPMG.

He added that as the time the counting was ongoing, information from the respondent’s representation indicated that an additional seven boxes of pink sheets was added, making the number 31 which therefore raised criminal suspicion.

But lead counsel for the petitioners, Mr. Philip Addison objected to the application by the respondents, saying that the respondents were only making stories to halt the audit of the pink sheets and the entire petition process.

However the court in a unanimous ruling   said that the concerns raised by the three respondents could be put before the selected referee, the KPMG .

According to the president of the nine panel judges, Mr. Justice William Atuguba, the issues raided by the respondent should be directed at KPMG so they could incorporated it in their report to the court after their finding, adding that the respondents would be allow to cross examine the petitioners witness on the report.

The respondents’ case was that during the counting of the pink sheets by KPMG, the respondent’s representative detected that there were more pink sheets numbering about seven boxes added onto the already 24 pink sheets known by parties ready to be counted.

According to Mr., Tsatsu Tsikata, lead counsel for the NDC, the respondents raised objection as to the number of pink sheets boxes that was taking on inventory, but the petitioners dismissed the allegation and it resulted into argument.

He noted that the issues halted the counting process and the referee through the judicial secretary stop the audit counting exercises.

Counsel also told the court that, all the other respondents have not got the number the petitioners was claiming that they had filed 31 boxes of pink sheets.

Mr. Tsikata said the control mechanism of the exhibit at the court registry has been compromised and that the issue amount to criminality which should be investigated, adding that  if there was anything to be done to restore the confidence, the exhibits with the nine panel should be cross check to confirm otherwise of the allegation.

He further told the court that through the smuggling of the seven exhibit boxes was criminal, the issues could not halt the petition process and that the criminal aspect of the matter should be determine by the court.

“My Lords, for the moment, our view is that the issue of criminality should not compromise the case, the criminal aspect could be separated,” he said.

Mr. Tony Lithur, lead counsel for President John Mahama and Mr. James Quashie-Idun, counsel for the Electoral Commission associated themselves with Mr. Tsikata arguments.

However in response to the application on the additional unknown seven boxes of pink sheets, Mr. Philip Addison, lead counsel for the petitioners accused the respondents counsel for breaching security to the audit counting ground.

According to him, Mr. Tsikata stormed the counting ground without an approval or accreditation from the court authority to be part of the counting process and later raised the issue of seven additional boxes of pink sheets.

He told the court the allegation by the respondents were without bases, for in his view the petitioners have filed 31 boxes of pink sheets at the court registry and the alleged additional seven  boxes  onto 24 boxes were untruth because they were not aware of any inventory on 24 boxes before the counting process began.

He invited the court to dismiss the application saying that the respondents have been  cooking up stories to halt the petition process for their unknown reasons and that the petitioners have never smuggled boxes of exhibits to the KPMG audit counting ground.

Cross examination

Mr. Tsikata yesterday concluded his cross examination on the star witness with application to the court to cross examine the witness when the KPMG report is made available before the court.

According to counsel he would be asking the witness on some issues regarding the number of polling station pink sheets the petitioners have filed in their case.

Following that Mr. Addison requested the court to adjourn proceeding till today to enable him re-examine the witness on the evidence he gave in chief as well as the evidence he gave during cross examination by the respondents counsel.

The case has been adjourned for today at 10; 00 am.