Star witness for the Electoral Commission, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, on Monday, struggled to state figures recorded on a particular collation sheet by an ‘illiterate’ presiding officer.

He was confronted with the pink sheet by counsel for the petitioners, Philip Addison, who continued with his cross-examination of the witness in Day 40 of the hearing of the presidential election petition.

The contentious figure on the collation sheet comes from a polling station in Apenkrom in the Ashanti region

Addison had asked the witness to tell the court the number of votes written for John Mahama on an exhibit in the P-series. Dr. Afari-Gyan said on the pink sheet was written "twenty-seven zero" in words, but the figure appeared to be 270.

Addison then suggested to him that the zero there was an afterthought. He also suggested that other documents have been superimposed on the pink sheet.

Dr. Afari-Gyan responded he couldn't say so. He nonetheless confessed that the presiding officer did a bad job.

Addison claimed there are several of similar pink sheets used in declaring the last election results.

It is possible, Dr. Afari-Gyan indicated.

Justice Gbadegbe urged the Electoral Commissioner never to recruit persons such as the one who filled the pink sheet in question because he/she may have been an illiterate.

In a post-court interview, spokesperson for the NDC, Nana Ato Dadzie, described the figures as “completely outrageous and strange”.