Presidential Election petition case, PARTIES TO GIVE ORAL SUBMISSIONS AUGUST 7, The Enquirer, Thursday, 1st August,2013,

By Felix Engsalige Nyaaba

The Supreme Court yesterday fixed August 7, 2013 as a provisional date for counsel for all parties in the Election Petition to be heard orally by way of clarifications and necessary additions in their addresses to the court.

The president of the nine member panel of Supreme Court hearing the case, Mr Justice William Atuguba issued the directives when court resumed hearing after the two weeks adjournment to enable parties for their written submission written addresses.

According to the court, “the oral clarifications and the necessary additions will be within 30 minutes each.

The  court directives  was  reached  after the NDC which failed to meet the deadline for filing the written address was allowed  for haven filed the process yesterday at 9:50 am Wednesday morning.

The oral submission on the matter by parties is to help the judges in determining the outcome of the petition which has been before the court for seven months now.

Tsatsu Explained Late Filing

Lead counsel for National Democratic Congress (NDC) Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata yesterday had explained to the Court that the compilation of appendices for the address was the reason for delayed in filing process to meet the deadline.

 According to him, the documents they were to file were not properly put together as most of the appendices were scatted and needed to be bind together , adding that he took personal responsibility for the delay for he thought it was not the best to file the address in pieces.

He however pleaded with the Bench to adopt his address which was filed early on Wednesday 31, despite missing the deadline.

Addison Objection

Despite Tsikata plea for forgiveness from the court over the delay in filing, lead counsel for the petitioners, Mr. Philip Addison, raised objection to the request by NDC counsel, arguing that court orders ought to be respected at all time and that the third respondent was using what he described as, “communist inferior tactics” with the aim of outwitting the Petitioners as far as the filing of addresses are concerned.

 He contended that the three respondents had spent the entire night combing through the Petitioners’ address with the intention of arming themselves in that regard.

 Mr. Addison further argued that Court orders are orders meant to be obeyed and therefore expressed bemusement about the NDC’s inability to respect that order by the Bench for the addresses to have been filed by Tuesday July 30, 2013, adding that the respondent should have notify the court through application for consideration.

Court Decision

The presiding judge, Mr Justice William Atuguba in a unanimous ruling on the matter said, “We note that the act that caused the delay in complying with the dateline of July 30, 2013 for filing addresses was for the benefit of this court”.

“Nonetheless, counsel should have as a senior counsel been guided by the reasonable fore seeability test in preparing his loose addresses.”

“It must not lightly be thought that court orders are any but solemn matters which ought to be treated as such".

The court further held that, considering the close extent of the delay, the third respondent’s address was filed at 9:50am Wednesday morning and that the sins of counsel should not be visited on the head of the client.

It added that in the convenience of the court, which was the mischief aimed at in defaulting to comply with the time limit set, and the sheer magnitude and gravity of the case, “We waive the default and admit the address as filed by on behalf third respondent”.

The court then adjourned the case to Wednesday August 7, 2013 as a cautious date for all the parties to be heard orally by way of clarifications and necessary additions in their addresses to the court.

The address is to be made within 30 minutes each.

The court also noted that the oral submission would not be an opportunity for the parties to re-open their cases but would be heavily curtailed to the two areas of clarifications and the necessary additions.

The court would also give direction on that day as to which of the parities will start the oral and for responses from other parties.

The petitioners were the first to file their address on Tuesday followed by the legal teams of the President and the Electoral Commission.

After months of cross-examination of witnesses, the Court is expected to give a verdict with the submission of the written addresses.

The 2012 Presidential Candidate of the main opposition New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo, his running mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the party’s national Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey went to the Court to challenge the results on grounds that the 2012 general elections were fraught with irregularities.

 The respondents in the case are President John Mahama, the Electoral Commission and the governing National Democratic Congress.

 While the petitioners, in their 175-page address, argue that the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should have been declared winner of the December 7 and 8, 2012 presidential poll, the respondents hold a different view.

According to the three respondents, the Electoral Commission (EC), President Mahama and the NDC, the petitioners had not been able to establish the grounds for the annulment of votes and the subsequent declaration of Nana Akufo-Addo as the winner of the presidential poll.