General News of Wednesday, 3 February 2021

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Bring further witnesses or bring down your case – Oppong Nkrumah to Mahama

John Mahama is challenging the outcome of the 2020 presidential election John Mahama is challenging the outcome of the 2020 presidential election

With today’s dismissal of the petitioner’s application to inspect documents of the Electoral Commission, they must produce any further witnesses they have or bring down their case. This was revealed by spokesperson on the legal team for the 2nd respondent, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, told journalists that today’s proceeding was “a good day for justice” and that the pendulum of the case has swung back into the arena of the petitioner.

He advanced an argument relative to why the application failed. “You need to ground it in law and prove same … but the pendulum swings back to the petitioner who had advertised that he had five witnesses who will give evidence to show that nobody got 50%.

“We have heard the first two. The jury is out on them. If there are three other witnesses, now will be the time to submit those witnesses to adduce the evidence … or if they are not able to put further witnesses before the court, then they would have to bring down their case,” he said.

In dismissing the application on Wednesday, February 3, Chief Justice Anin Yeboah said while delivering the ruling of the panel: “the proceedings so far show that the petitioner has copies of the documents which are the subject of this application.

“We are of the view that no proper case has been before us to warrant the exercise of our discretion in favour of the applicant. Order 29 of CI 47 which is the basis of this application should not be read in isolation, it should be read in conjunction with Rule 11 of the said Order,” he stressed.

The Chief Justice has adjourned the case to February 5, 2021. It means the public hearing takes a day’s break.