Former President John Dramani Mahama has justified reasons why he has petitioned the Supreme court to challenged the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
The former president addressing the nation in a video broadcast indicated that his decision to contest the declared results is to remove all doubts.
Mr. Mahama in his address said he is petitioning the court by the same principle that his opponent used in 2012.
According to him, has been asked to let go for the sake of peace but he is a man who will pursue his case peacefully.
He said he knows what it takes to concede and he .did the same in 2016 and congratulated his opponent and publicly accepted defeat.
He added his decision to contest the results is not for the sake to hold onto power but because he wants to ensure that the polls were not rigged in anyone’s favour.
Mr. Mahama added that he filed the petition because of his dedication to principle and democracy.
He insisted the polls were not free, fair, transparent.
To him, just as it was the right of President Akufo-Addo to contest the results in 2012, it is also his right to do the same and hold the electoral body accountable for their work.
He condemned the violence and deaths recorded during the elections saying this is an unprecedented act.
Portions of his speech read: “On the issue of how best to proceed as a country and candidate, I’ve been advised to forgo everything in the name of peace.
As former president, I’m here to assure I know what it means to lose election and concede in the name of peace as I did in 2016.
I did then and will do so now. But I took the decision not to concede in the interest of peace and the people.
I believe the elections were not free and fair and so I decided not to concede.
Whenever we decide to take the easiest road, we sacrifice peace on a silver platter. The founders of our country stood against provocations to demand the sovereign that we enjoy today
Some of you listening to me today know only democracy. You know only a Ghana characterised by peaceful transition of power, proliferation of media etc. But this is not how Ghana has been
He added: “In a democracy, peace and justice are key. In 2012 when I won, my opponent went to court. That petition strengthened our democracy
I’m in court for the same reasons Akufo-Addo went to court in 2012, to wit, to clear any doubts surrounding the elections
People lost their lives in the elections. We cannot leave things as it is. There’ll be peace because there’s justice.
I want a Ghana where decisions are taken in the interest of the people
I filed today’s case because the EC Chairperson, Mrs. Jean Mensa, failed to respect the constitution and its dictates.”
Former President John Dramani Mahama has filed a petition at the Supreme Court praying the court to annul the declaration of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the President-elect by the E.lectoral Commission.
He is also seeking an order of injunction restraining President Akufo-Addo from holding himself as the President-elect.
In his petition, the former president is further asking the court to order the electoral body to conduct a second election with only him and President Akufo-Addo as the candidates.
It is the case of Mr. Mahama that of the Chairperson of the EC, Mrs. Jean Mensa, breached the 1992 Constitution, specifically Article 63(3) with the declaration that she made on December 9, 2020.
He is also asking the court to declare that based on the data contained in the declaration “no candidate satisfied” the more than 50 per cent threshold required to be declared a winner of the presidential poll.
He also wants a declaration from the court that the said declaration of President Akufo-Addo as the President-elect by the EC is “unconstitutional, null, void and of no legal effect”.
The former President argues that the results announced by Mrs. Mensa on December 9, 2020, did not give any candidate the more than 50 per cent threshold.
He said the EC Chairperson announced the total valid votes cast as 13,434,574, minus the results of Techiman South, with President Akufo-Addo obtaining 6,730,413 of the votes representing 51.595 percent of the votes while he (Mahama) got 6,214,889 representing 47.366 percent of the votes.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com
