Lawyer and Vice President of IMANI Africa Kofi Bentil has insisted that no data presented by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would change the 2020 Presidential election verdict.
Mr Bentil emphasised that the data available shows that “there is no way Nana Addo is going to fall below 50 per cent”, which is the constitutionally required percentage to win Ghana’s presidential polls.
Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Jean Mensa declared Presidential candidate of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Akufo-Addo as President-elect last Wednesday.
Even though world leaders, Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), international observers, local and international media have all described the election as free, fair and transparent, the Presidential candidate of the main opposition NDC John Dramani Mahama rejected the verdict, describing the results as “fictionalised”.
THE CUSTODIAN has gathered that the NDC leadership, beyond Mahama’s core followers all know the former president lost the election and that is why they party is fighting for parliamentary majority.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, Mr. Bentil dared the NDC to provide the supposed data that could turn around the general election verdict.
“Bring the evidence and show me that the evidence is of such materiality that it can make a change in the ultimate declaration that has been made. Everything we’ve looked at does not suggest that.
“So NDC should feel free to say whatever they want to say but until they can put up that material evidence which means we may have to change the results, they need to change their tone a bit,” he stated.
Mr Bentil cautioned the NDC to desist from allegations that indicate that the election was stolen or the figures were fictitious.
He also advised the opposition political party to not dramatize their plight.
“If you dramatize your case, you will lose people,” he added.
Take You Evidence To Court-Baako To NDC
On his part, the Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul-Malik Kweku Baako has challenged the NDC to go to court if it is convinced that the 2020 election was stolen.
He reiterated that even though the NDC’s presidential candidate can resort to various legitimate means to register his displeasure, the best option is to seek the services of the Supreme Court.
“Anything else Mr. Mahama does; demonstrations, hunger strike, everything, though legitimate and democratic, they are not a substitute for judicial determination relative to declarations made by the EC,” he said.
Mr Baako recalled events from 2012 when President Akufo-Addo petitioned the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome of that year’s election.
“That particular experience informed the improvement and progress the country has made in its election architecture.
“It’s quite an ironic situation that now the tables have turned and President Mahama may have to go to court.
“Indeed, he was the beneficiary of a similar incident in 2013 during the election petition when he was an incumbent and President Akufo-Addo, Bawumia and others were disputing the election results, and we all saw what happened.
“I wish he does same because, it will improve the democratic dispensation that we have given ourselves since the past years,” Mr Baako added.
