General News of Tuesday, 23 February 2021

Source: peacefmonline.com

Election Petition: Don't give up, we know what we are doing - Sammy Gyamfi tells 'crestfallen' NDC members

Sammy Gyamfi addresses the Press after Supreme Court ruling play videoSammy Gyamfi addresses the Press after Supreme Court ruling

National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a member of the legal team of 2020 election petitioner John Mahama has asked party members not to 'give up'.

Speaking after a Supreme Court ruling which dismissed Mr Mahama's application to review the Supreme Court's decision to reopen his case, Sammy Gyamfi said, “we want to tell them that we understand and appreciate your frustrations. We understand and appreciate that and we are telling you don’t give up. We are not doing this for nothing. We know what we are doing and we are dong this because of the love we have for Ghana, particularly that of the Petitioner...”.

His comment comes on the back of calls from some members of the party to withdraw the 2020 election petition since the Supreme Court has thrown out several of their applications.

However, Sammy Gyamfi said in as much as their 'frustrations' are understandable, there is the need to be patient.

“Those who are crestfallen, those who are discouraged and sometimes call us, worried and disturbed saying, ‘Why don’t you withdraw this matter?’, ‘You shouldn’t even go to court’ . . . Let us all be patient with the legal team as we go through the process. We are not abusing the court processes like some are suggesting and we have not defied the orders of the court,” he noted.

Listen to him in the video below:



Supreme Court Decision

A nine-member panel of Supreme Court (SC) Judges has unanimously dismissed a review application filed by the petitioner in the 2020 election petition, John Mahama.

Mr Mahama filed an application for review of the Supreme Court’s ruling that prevented him from reopening his case.

According to the motion, the SC made fundamental errors of law, including the ruling being per incuriam of constitutional provisions, statutes, and previous decisions of the Supreme Court.

“I am advised by counsel and verily believe the court made fundamental errors of law including the ruling being per incuriam of constitutional provisions, statutes and previous decisions of the Supreme Court...Among these errors, I am advised by counsel and verily believe is an error whereby the courts subordinates a provision in the Evidence Act to a rule in subsidiary legislation by the Rules of Court Committee,” portions of the application read.

However, a ruling read by Chief Justice Anin Yeboah, Monday said the application was not based on law and that review discretion is not a try on and neither should it be asked on emotional grounds.

"We dismiss the instant application as being wholly without merit," he said.