Mahama Yet To Call Akufo-Addo To Concede After Election Petition Verdict
The Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 election, John Dramani Mahama is yet to call President Akufo-Addo to concede defeat after the Supreme Court verdict of the 2020 Election Petition, sources at the Jubilee House have said
This is in sharp contrast to what then Candidate Nana Akufo-Addo did in 2013 after the 2012 Election Petition verdict.
In his concession speech, Nana Akufo-Addo said: “Whilst I do not agree with the court’s decision, I accept it, l have called President Mahama and congratulated him”.
The Supreme Court on Thursday, March 4th, 2020 ruled that President Akufo-Addo was validly elected in the December 2020 polls.
Mr. John Mahama who represented the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the polls went to court insisting that none of the nine presidential candidates obtained the mandatory 50%+1 vote constitutional threshold to be declared winner of the polls.
In his petition filed on December 30, 2020, Mr. Mahama sought five reliefs from the apex court.
He among other things asked the Supreme Court to declare the EC’s declaration of President Nana Akufo-Addo as winner of the polls as unconstitutional, null and void.
Mr. Mahama based his arguments on some declaration errors made by the EC as well as allegations of vote padding.
He also asked the apex court to order the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct a re-run of the election between himself and President Akufo-Addo.
But three months after the trial, the Supreme on Thursday, March 4, 2021, ruled that the petition as filed by John Mahama was without merit.
Chair of the seven-member panel, Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah subsequently dismissed the petition.
The Respondents — the Electoral Commission and President Akufo-Addo– urged the apex court to dismiss the petition.
They argued that the petition was incompetent, lacked merit, and raised no reasonable cause of action.
In its ruling, however, the Supreme Court said the petitioner failed to prove his case via his petition or through his witnesses hence the verdict.
