BATTLE OVER COLLATION FORMS TODAY, The Enquirer, Wednesday, 26th June, 2013

By Felix Engsalige Nyaaba

The Supreme Court will today hear a motion application filed by the petitioners challenging the declaration of Mr. John Dramani Mahama as President, requesting the court to direct the Electoral Commission (EC) to produce collation forms for 13 constituencies.

They are praying the court to among of other things order the EC to produce, for inspection and photocopying, the Presidential Election Collation Results Forms for 13 constituencies across the country.

The constituencies that they are seeking for the collation forms are Ledzokuku, Lower Manya Krobo, Tamale South, Techiman North, Yilo Krobo, Akuapem North, Berekum West, Kintampo South, Upper West Akim, Mporhor, Yendi, Ketu North and Oforikrom.

According to the petitioners, the granting of their request would enable their lead counsel, Mr. Philip Addison, to do an effective cross-examination of the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan,to demonstrate that the petitioners brought the instant action in good faith.

They further maintained that it had become crucial for them to make the request on the grounds that all citizens of Ghana have a constitutional right, by virtue of Article 21 (1) (f) of the Constitution, to access information on such public documents as the Collation Results Forms which are in custody of the EC, after the close of elections and declaration of results

But in quick responses with affidavits in opposition, the respondents in the petition asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the application for collation forms by the petitioners for it lacks merits and also a waste of court time.

The second respondent in the case is the Electoral Commission (EC), while President Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are the first and third respondents, respectively.

They contended that the application by the petitioners requesting the second respondents to produce the Collation forms is too late and that the petitioners at the time of filing the case should have known the types of documents they needed before proceeding to the court.

The respondents further described the request as a systematic tactics by the petitioners to unduly delay the proceedings, adding that similar applications have been dismissed by the court.

The motion filed on behalf of the petitioners by their solicitors, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh and Co, is expected to be moved today before the nine panel judges hearing the petition.

The hearing of the substantive petition, which has the Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his running mate, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia and the Chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, as petitioners began on April 17, 2013.

The petitioners have alleged that the December 7 and 8, 2012 presidential election was fraught with malpractices of over-voting, non-signing of pink sheets by presiding officers or their assistants, voting without biometric verification and duplicated serial numbers of pink sheets.

However, President Mahama, the EC and, the NDC have denied that any such irregularities occurred during the election.