New Patriotic Party flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the election petition, said the entire process proved to Ghanaians he is a true leader.

“I said, on the day the judgement was delivered, that everything in my bones, in the way I was brought up and in how I have conducted my life thus far, made it imperative that I accept a decision of the highest court of our land, even though I might disagree with it. I thank the Lord that He gave me that inner strength to display the leadership when required,” the former attorney general said in a statement to mark the third anniversary of the petition which challenged the 2012 presidential results.

The Supreme Court in its judgment affirmed the NDC candidate John Mahama as the president after eight months of legal tussle.

Below is the full statement of Nana Addo:

Exactly three years ago, on August, 29, 2013, the Supreme Court, the highest court of our nation, delivered a 5-4 majority judgement that brought an end to the election petition that the late Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, Mahamudu Bawumia and I had filed in the court, challenging the validity of the results of the 2012 presidential election. The majority decision rejected our challenge.

After proceedings that lasted eight months, Ghana came out with her democratic credentials enhanced. We proved to the world that we were willing and able to submerge our individual and partisan preferences for the common good. We demonstrated clearly that it was not the ambitions of Akufo-Addo, nor the fortunes of the NPP, that we sought to promote. The stability and progress of Ghana, and the enhancement of her democracy were the paramount considerations that guided our every action in those difficult days.

I said, on the day the judgement was delivered, that everything in my bones, in the way I was brought up and in how I have conducted my life thus far, made it imperative that I accept a decision of the highest court of our land, even though I might disagree with it. I thank the Lord that He gave me that inner strength to display the leadership when required.

The message from the majority on the Court was clear, and to the effect that, regardless of the infractions or irregularities that might happen on Election Day, what happens at the polling station is sacred and results declared there will not be reversed. We, in the NPP, have taken that message to heart.

However, it must be pointed out that the sanctity of the ballot is and must be supreme. It is the expression of preference involved in the casting of the ballot that is sacred – the rest of the activities are, at best, administrative exercises. The count, the collation, the transmission and the declaration of results cannot and should not be more important than the sacred, God-given right of a citizen expressing his or her choice represented by the casting of his or her ballot.

The strength of any democracy is very much determined by the credibility of its electoral system. It is in our collective interest that we ensure that the rules and regulations for the conduct of elections are fair and transparent, and that we all develop respect for them. There should be no lingering questions about the legitimacy of an election, and the winning candidate at the end of the process should receive the unalloyed support of all. That is how we can strengthen our democracy and the peace and stability of our nation.

With three months to the holding of the December 2016 election, our economy is in crisis, businesses are collapsing, the cost of living is unbearably high for the ordinary person, our youth remain without employment, our children are failing in their examinations, cash and carry is effectively back in our hospitals, and we are experiencing strikes all over. God did not put us on this rich land to be poor. It is bad leadership that makes us poor.

I believe I can, in all humility, provide, with God’s guidance and the assistance of a capable team, the leadership that is needed to return Ghana onto the path of progress and prosperity, were the Ghanaian people to entrust me with their mandate. I am appealing to Ghanaians to repose their confidence in me in December, and together we shall make the Black Star of Africa rise and shine again.

The battle is still the Lord’s!

God bless our democracy! God bless Ghana! God bless Mother Africa!

……signed……

Nana Akufo-Addo

2016 NPP Presidential Candidate