No end in sight for Ghana’s presidential election petition

Accra. The determination of the petition challenging the election of Mr John Dramani Mahama as Ghana’s President is likely to be a long drawn war after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of a review of the final decision.The latest development could see President Mahama enjoying his current status for a long time without any worries.When the hearing started, it was assumed that the final ruling would bring an end to the problem. But the new twist means that the case was likely go into another round of contest.In addition, the court has also ruled out any sittings on public holidays, giving further indication that the case was unlikely to end soon.The hearing had by Thursday entered the 14th day, with lawyers still cross examining the star witness of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who together with chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, who are challenging the declaration by the Electoral Commission (EC) that made President Mahama winner of the December 2012 election.Some political analysts have started questioning the constitutional provisions that allow a winner in an election to be sworn-in even if there were questions against the declarations.“We are beginning to see that the framers of the constitution did not factor into their thinking a situation like this. It is impossible to fathom how the winner of a flawed election is allowed to be sworn-in as president and wait for a Supreme Court to decide his fate,” said political analyst for civil society group, Let My Vote Count (LMVC), Mr Joseph Donkor.Mr Donkor, like many others, wonders how long the current hearing would last because the constitution did not place a time limit on such a case.Other analysts have also complained about the methods being adopted by lawyers for the respondents, the EC, President Mahama and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) as they have been accused of engaging in a strategy to prolong the hearing.The NDC lawyer, Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, has received condemnation by NPP lawyer, Mr Philip Addison, for repeating questions he put to Dr Bawumia.