NDC joinder petition: Supreme Court rules January 22
After four hours twenty-five minutes legal submissions at
its sitting Wednesday, the Supreme Court, fixed January 22, 2013 to decide
whether or not to allow the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to join a
petition challenging the declaration of President John Dramani Mahama, as
winner of the December 2012 elections.
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It took an hour for the lead counsel for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, to justify why the NDC must be made to join the petition and an additional hour for the petitioners, Mr Philip Addison, to oppose the NDC’s application to join the case, which promises to be a landmark in Ghana’s legal history.
An additional 40 minutes was expended on whether or not, there was the need for the lawyers of the petitioners to officially and openly withdraw their objection to the composition of the nine-member panel presided over by Mr Justice William Atuguba with Mr Justice Julius Ansah, Mrs Justice Sophia Adinyira, Ms Justice Rose Owusu, Mr Justice Jones Dotse, Mr Justice Annin Yeboah, Mr P. Baffoe-Bonnie, Mr Justice N. S. Gbadegbe and Mrs Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo as panel members.
Prior to the hearing of the motion for joinder, Mr Addison refused to openly withdraw the objection of the petitioners namely, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the December 2012 elections, his running mate, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia and the Chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, on grounds that he did not raise the objection in open court.
Mr Addison insisted his team did not make the objection to the composition of the panel in open court during the court’s sitting on January 10, 2013, and read out a letter dated, January 11, 2013, which said the petitioners, had withdrawn their objection to the composition of the panel.
He argued that it was, rather, some members of the NDC legal team which publicly mentioned the name of the judge the petitioners were opposed to.
After a back and forth argument between Mr Addison and Mr Tsikata, as well as an occasional intervention from the judges, Mr Addison eventually stated, “I completely withdraw”.
His eventual withdrawal paved the way for the hearing of the motion for joinder, which was filed on December 31, 2012 and deposed to by the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah.
The remaining two hours, 25 minutes, was exhausted on a 27-minute break, brief comments from some members of the panel, series of legal arguments from lawyers in the case, objections, counter-objections, brief rulings from the bench as well as legal interaction between the judges and the lawyers.
The packed courtroom was treated to a bout of occasional laughter from either the Bench or the Bar. In all, the audience was treated to lengthy legal arguments and education from the Bench and the Bar.
The petitioners, on December 28, 2012, filed a petition at the Supreme Court challenging the election results on grounds that the Electoral Commission (EC), deliberately, manipulated the election results to favour President Mahama but the NDC filed a motion for joinder on December 31, 2013, arguing that it was an interested party, because the President stood for the elections on its ticket.
Moving the motion for joinder at the court’s sitting in Accra, Mr Tsikata prayed the court to allow his client to join the petition as a respondent on grounds that the name and symbol of the NDC were displayed against the photograph of President Mahama.
Story by Mabel Aku Baneseh
