...Noise’ over 2012 election results

Contrary to the New Patriotic Party’s claim that the Electoral Commission erred in declaring incumbent President, John Dramani as first round winner, majority of Ghanaians in a survey have given a clean bill of health to the President’s victory.

A survey conducted by the Global Center for Transformational Leaders (GCTL) indicates that a whopping 73 percent of Ghanaians believe President Mahama genuinely won the December 7 and 8 presidential elections.

The survey indicates that whereas a paltry 18 percent of respondents cast doubts about President John Mahama’s victory, nine percent admitted they can’t tell or have no idea whether the election was genuine or was fraught with irregularities as the NPP claims. In all, one thousand eligible respondents randomly sampled across the country were interviewed with a margin of error of 2.5%.

Among supporters of the National Democratic Congress, the research showed that 97 percent joined in the chorus that the President won the election genuinely whereas 3 percent said they have no idea. The GCTL research also revealed that President John Mahama scored high marks among NPP supporters as 47 percent of them believed he won convincingly whiles 33% think the election was manipulated to favour him and 20 percent of the respondents said they have no opinion on the subject under study.

Touching on the NPP’s petition at the highest court of the land, 76 percent of respondents were of the view that despite leaders of the elephant party challenging the legitimacy of the President, they still consider him as the truly elected President of the country; 17 percent said they can’t tell whiles 7 percent declined comment on it. On whether the NPP’s flagship policy had any effect on their voting pattern, 32 percent of the respondents said yes, 66 percent said they can’t tell and 21 percent also had no comment on that.

The GCTL is a Non Governmental Organization and Leadership educational institution based in Ghana, offering Leadership coaching, mentoring and training.

The organization is totally apolitical and not tied to any religious, cultural and social entity. It is independent, with the sole purpose of promoting effective and responsible leadership in all fields of endeavor in Africa and beyond Africa.

The NPP on Friday December 28, 2012, formally filed a petition at the Supreme Court challenging the outcome of the 2012 General Elections held on December 7 and 8, 2012 which the party claims was characterized with “systemic fraud”

Chairman for the Electoral Commission, Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan on December 9, 2012, declared President Mahama winner in the Presidential contest. The president obtained 50.70% of the votes whilst his closest challenger Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP, polled 47.74% of total votes cast.

The NPP rejected the results, claiming the elections were rigged in favor of President Mahama and indicated its resolve to challenge the results at the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court. Leaders of the party insisted there was ‘incontrovertible evidence’ of widespread irregularities which favored the president and greatly impacted the final outcome of the poll.

Both the EC and President Mahama have filed their defense to the NPP’s petition, claiming that "the petition is without merit" and, accordingly, prayed the Supreme Court to "dismiss it".

The EC also denied any irregularities and electoral malpractice, as well as working deliberately to unlawfully assist President Mahama to win the presidential poll and subsequently prayed the court to "order the petitioners to give particulars of the polling stations in which the violations, irregularities and malpractice are alleged to have occurred".

The President in his response to the petition also accuse the Presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his running mate, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia and the Chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey of “seeking to subvert the Constitution and undermine the sovereign will of the people of Ghana by demanding from the Honorable Court an order annulling the results of the exercise of their fundamental rights under the Constitution.”