President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo claims that his victory in the presidential election in December 2020 is now assured.
This follows the unanimous dismissal of his rival’s [John Dramani Mahama] petition questioning the validity of the election results as announced by the Electoral Commission by the Supreme Court.
President Akufo-Addo, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) candidate, made the assertion on social media shortly after the Supreme Court ruled that he was legitimately elected.
“In a unanimous decision on Thursday, March 4, 2021, the Supreme Court upheld my victory in the presidential election of December 7, 2020,” he wrote on Twitter.
President Akufo-Addo, who has already started his second term, had his eligibility called into question by the opposition leader before he was sworn in.
In court, John Mahama, who represented the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the elections, claimed that none of the nine presidential candidates met the constitutional requirement of 50 percent plus one vote to be declared the winner.
Mr. Mahama requested five reliefs from the Supreme Court in his petition filed on December 30, 2020.
He requested the Supreme Court, among other items, to declare the EC’s announcement of President Nana Akufo-Addo as the election’s winner unconstitutional, null, and void.
Mr. Mahama’s points were focused on EC declaration errors as well as claims of vote padding.
He also requested that the Supreme Court direct the Electoral Commission (EC) to hold a new election between himself and President Akufo-Addo.
However, three months after the verdict, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, March 4, 2021, that John Mahama’s petition was without substance.
Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, chair of the seven-member tribunal, rejected the petition later.
The Electoral Commission and President Akufo-Addo, the Respondents, urged the Supreme Court to reject the petition.
They said the petition was incompetent, lacking in substance, and raising no legitimate cause of action.
The Supreme Court, on the other hand, found that the appellant had failed to prove his case either through his petition or through his witnesses.
Read Also: President Nana Akufo-Addo was duly elected – Supreme Court
Mahama to speak on verdict
Meanwhile, Mr. Mahama is waiting to speak on the Supreme Court’s 7-0 decision dismissing his case later tonight.
At 6:00 p.m., the petitioner will deliver a speech at his office in Cantonments, Accra.
Abraham Amaliba, a member of Mr. Mahama’s legal team in the recently concluded case, revealed this shortly after the apex court’s decision on Thursday, March 4, 2021.
Unlike the regular post-procedure press conferences held by spokespersons, he said, today’s address will be delivered directly by the NDC presidential candidate in the polls.
SOURCE: ATLFMNEWSONLINE
