Mr Mettle-Nunoo said he was disappointed in the ruling since it did not pave way for the Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Mrs Jean Mensa to be accountable.

“The ruling is a total recipe for disaster because we cannot hold the EC to account. Every Returning Officer can perform abysmally and get away with it.

“You declare multiple figures and we don’t examine those multiple figures, where is the strict proof? And then you say they shouldn’t bring documentation for everybody to see,” he said in an interview on Accra-based Kasapa FM.

He added: “In other countries like Kenya and South Africa they bring independent auditors to certify that whatever has been done, has been done properly.”

A-seven-member panel of the Apex Court on Thursday, March 4, 2021, unanimousl dismissed the petition brought before it by John Dramani Mahama, the 2020 Presidential Candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Mr Mahama took the EC to court to challenge the validity of results and the declaration of President Nana Akufo-Addo as the winner.

But reading the ruling of the court, Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah said the petitioner did not satisfy all the five issues outlined by the court to determine the case.

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He described as fanciful the witness statement by the petitioner’s second and third respondents – Dr Michael Kpessa-Whyte and Mr Mettle-Nunoo

The two were in the strong room during the final collation of the election results, monitoring on behalf of the petitioner but left mainstream.

During the petition proceedings, the two witnesses told the court that they were sent by Mrs Mensa to the petitioner, Mr Mahama.

However, the Chief Justice held that the witnesses of Mr Mahama in the election petition, are to blame themselves for abandoning their duties.

The legal team, which could not hide its joy, stood at the forecourt of the court to sing songs of praises to the Almighty God.

The team sang local gospel songs including the famous ‘Aba mu awie‘ and waved white handkerchiefs.

The lead counsel, Akoto Ampaw, led the team to chant Tsobo to acknowledge their hard work.

They were joined by the Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Freddie Blay and the General Secretary, John Boadu.

The Apex Court ruled the case in their favour after the Chief Justice, Anin Yeboah disclosed the petitioner did not satisfy all the five issues outlined by the court to determine the case.

The Supreme Court of Ghana has upheld the re-election of President Akufo-Addo as president of Ghana.

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The decision means he was validly elected during the December 7, 2020, presidential elections.

Former President John Mahama, who lost the 2016 elections and re-contested the 2020 polls on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress, took the Electoral Commission to court, to challenge the validity of results and the declaration of President Akufo-Addo as the winner.

Mr Mahama was challenging the results of the polls insisting that none of the nine presidential candidates obtained the mandatory 50%+1 constitutional threshold to be declared the winner of the polls.

There have also been congratulatory and goodwill messages to President Nana Akufo-Addo on his victory with the same extended to former President John Mahama.

The Apex Court on Thursday, March 3, 2021, dismissed the election petition brought before it by Mr Mahama, the 2020 Presidential Candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The court basically held that the petitioner failed to conclusively prove any of the issues that it had filed for determination.

Unlike mahama and his vice in 2013, these gentlemen are not cladded in white apparels. They are real gentlemen who mean business #ElectionPetition pic.twitter.com/yDcagkoXCQ

— kobby Abeam (@kaydeealive) March 4, 2021

Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah made this known while reading the ruling of the court.

“The petitioner did not demonstrate in any way how the errors affected the declaration of the election…We have therefore no reason to order a re-run [of the election]. We accordingly dismiss the petition,” he said.

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Read more reactions below:

Mr President and His Vice..

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, The People’s President.
Congratulations Sir.?#JudgmentDay #ElectionPetition#BeyondThe8 pic.twitter.com/LO0AeUjepJ

— Jojo Stephen (@JoJo_Steven1) March 4, 2021

Soloku at John Mahama’s office at 5pm. #Electionpetition #JudgementDay pic.twitter.com/h1Qi18GL0z

— Yung Renzel⏺ (@Rick_Stunnaman) March 4, 2021

Thank you Ghana for the votes.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

President till 6th January, 2025#ElectionPetition Chief Justice#JudgementDay#JMPetitionAtoNsuom pic.twitter.com/XYWjCFjPis

— sir Justice?? (@justiceWinebia) March 4, 2021

#ElectionPetition dismissed pic.twitter.com/DvQYEGkFUa

— @SeptemberNeBa (@whereisyourList) March 4, 2021

Is this what will happen on judgement day? Listening to all your sins and having it referenced against those you asked for forgiveness and went back to do the same things over and over again ?#ElectionPetition

— Ghana Made (@abenamagis) March 4, 2021

Petitioner’s mood on Nunoo and Whyte ?come help then you spoil the matter #ElectionPetition pic.twitter.com/FyIpdvyVMD

— Nana KOB (@IamNanaKOB) March 4, 2021

This is just one election and the Chief Justice has read for 2 hours non stop re the #Electionpetition verdict.

So if on the main #JudgementDay God decides to overlook your minor sins and read only your major sins, how many days will it take us to wait for your verdict? ?

— Saddick Adams (@SaddickAdams) March 4, 2021

NPP mood ?#ElectionPetition pic.twitter.com/kH1yIc6j1L

— A’ Kenneth. (@Addoflash1) March 4, 2021

Asiedu Nketia at the NDC press conference after the petition. #ElectionPetition. ??? pic.twitter.com/wH8HBtIQS7

— Husband Material?? (@WofahKay1) March 4, 2021

According to the party, the claims are blatant falsehoods that must be rejected by Ghanaians.

This comes on the back of a statement from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which accused the duo of turning the Supreme Court Judges against Dr Dominic Ayine and lead counsel and subjecting them to attacks.

According to the NDC, the NPP team had used their media briefing after each court proceeding to launch attacks against the counsel for former President John Mahama and further incite the court against the former Deputy Attorney General, Dr Ayine.

However, the statement, signed by the Director of Communications, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, said: “Dr Ayine has in the past been warned by the court for his conduct aimed at disparaging the Supreme Court.”

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The statement added: “It is an affront to the apex court of the land for the NDC to suggest that the venerable, experienced and learned Justices of the Supreme Court who, over time, have demonstrated to be independent and objective are amenable to ‘incitement’ by spokespersons of the 2nd Respondent.”

Read the full statement below:

RE: ATTEMPTS BY KOJO OPPONG-NKRUMAH AND HENRY NANA BOAKYE TO INCITE THE SUPREME COURT AGAINST NDC LAWYERS

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has taken notice of a press release from the NDC that seeks to create the false impression that the Supreme Court is being “INCITED” to cite Dr Dominic Ayine for Contempt and also the lead Counsel of the Petitioner has been subjected to attacks by Hon. Kojo Oppong- Nkrumah Esq. and Henry Nana Boakye Esq.

The NPP takes strong exception to the plain lies therein and without a shred of equivocation, state:

1. It is an affront to the apex court of the land for the NDC to suggest that the venerable, experienced and learned Justices of the Supreme Court (SC) who, over time, have demonstrated to be independent and objective are amenable to “INCITEMENT” by spokespersons of the 2nd Respondent.

2. The claim that Hon. Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah Esq. and Henry Nana Boakye Esq. seek to incite the SC against Dr Dominic Ayine is a blatant falsehood that must be rejected by Ghanaians.

3. The unfortunate comments from Dr Dominic Ayine that “for the Supreme Court to reduce the Petition into a single issue Petition is rather unfortunate and smacks of a predetermined agenda to rule against the Petitioner in this matter…we think that the court by this decision has not done the people of this country a great service. In the sense that Ghanaians are interested in knowing the truth…the Justices, today, has not given us a reason to believe that they want the people of this country to know the truth about what happened” were voluntarily uttered by Dr Ayine and he is solely responsible for its consequences.

4. Dr Ayine has in the past been warned by the court for his conduct aimed at disparaging the Supreme Court.

5. The suggestion that the Lawyers and Spokespersons of the 2nd Respondent have been attacking, insulting and belittling the lead Counsel of the Petitioner is a plain falsehood, mischievously crafted to solicit public sympathy for the legal team of the Petitioner to conceal their poor performance, evident from the dismissals almost every major motion/application they have filed has suffered thus far.

6. The regrettable attitude of the lead Counsel of the Petitioner towards the bench has been a matter of public outrage and it is not correct to suggest that it is the lawyers or spokespersons of the 2nd Respondent that have made a case out of it.

7. It is utterly shocking for the National Communications Officer of the NDC who, over the years, have persistently insulted and disrespected President Akufo-Addo – someone whose legal and political achievements, the former may never be able to attain in his entire life – to lament and suggest that the spokespersons of the 2nd Respondent ought to show deference to seniors at the Bar when in actual fact, there hasn’t been any act of disrespect on the part of the 2nd Respondent’s team towards the Petitioner’s lawyers or spokespersons.

8. We encourage the NDC team to focus on explaining to their supporters why the statistics they earlier claimed were in their favour have been abandoned in court.

9. We also admonish them to desist from misinforming the public on developments in court and also refrain from their penchant to create a false impression that the court is biased against them.

10. The Spokespersons for the 2nd Respondent’s legal team will remain forthright and continuously inform the public on the truth about developments in court and not hesitate to respond adequately to the NDC propaganda.

Thank you

Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, Esq.

(National Communications Director, NPP)

His demands come on the back of what he described as a violation of intellectual property rights after the petitioner’s lawyers used a video from his show to support their case on Monday, February 8, 2020, when the third witness, Rojo Mettle-Nunoo mounted the box.

The video saw the Campaign Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in last year’s elections, Peter Mac Manu, explain how the NPP collated its figures.

Mr Mac-Manu also detailed how the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) representatives for the 2020 election; Mr Mettle-Nunoo and Dr Michael Kpessa-Whyte left the Electoral Commission strongroom at a point during the collation of presidential results.

However, Mr Adom-Otchere has lamented the petitioners used the video without acknowledging the source, a situation he has expressed his disappointment in.

To him, the lawyers should have at least officially written to them prior to the usage of the footage at the Supreme Court, stating the action clearly shows they don’t respect their work.

“We’re particularly upset tonight that our video has been played in court without reference to the people who by dint of hard work conducted that interview, produced the video and put the video out on television and on social media for them to extract. In fact, they didn’t even write to us that they wanted the video,” he fumed.

As part of introductory comments on his show on Tuesday evening, he announced a bill will soon be sent to the NDC’s Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi.

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“We’ll send a bill to Sammy Gyamfi GH¢1,200 and you are going to buy our crew Marwako fried rice and chicken or Papaye for three consecutive programmes starting from Thursday,” he announced.

He said his comment may sound like a joke, but he was serious about it.

Testifying on behalf of the petitioner on Friday, the man, popularly known as General Mosquito, during cross-examination, said the NDC is in court to challenge the conduct and constitutional duty of the Electoral Commission (EC) and not the 2020 election results.

“My Lord we are not in court to try to declare another presidential result by us [NDC], we are in court to challenge the performance of the constitutional duty of the first respondent [Electoral Commissioner] and to access whether that duty has been discharged faithfully,” he said.

Mr Mahama on December 30, 2020, filed a petition at the Supreme Court seeking to set aside the results of the election that went in favour of the New Patriotic Party’s Nana Akufo-Addo.

Already, the NDC’s General Secretary, in his witness statement, has alleged that the EC Chairperson, Mrs Jean Mensa was biased in the execution of her role relating to the December 7 election.

The outspoken politician claimed her bias stemmed from her “close familial relationship” with the wife of the second respondent, Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

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In his testimony, he insisted that the alleged bias by the EC Chairperson is contrary to Article 296 of the Constitution which requires public officers not to be biased.

But interacting with the media after proceedings, a member of President Akufo-Addo’s legal team, Frank Davies, described Mr Nketia’s attitude in the witness stand as being evasive.

He said “when Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia took to the witness box, he remained largely evasive. Every question that was posed, his immediate response was that, ‘I’m not the petitioner.’

“This is someone who, in paragraph two of his witness statement, has stated clearly that he was in court to lend aid to the petition filed by the petitioner. How can you come to court as a witness to a party and when asked a question, you say, ‘I’m not the petitioner’?”

General Mosquito, as he is popularly known, is testifying on behalf of the flagbearer of his party, John Mahama at the Supreme Court.

Peter Amenuvor, the lawyer for the Electoral Commission, who is the first respondent in the hearing, cross-examined Mr Nketia.

As part of the proceedings, the NDC chief scribe was asked to calculate some figures from the election.

In the spur of the moment, the Archimedes in General Mosquito came to play as he got hold of a calculator.

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The punches were so hard that one could hear the sound of it as the lawyer look on keenly with his eyes wide open.

The hilarious manner in which he went about the calculation has generated massive reactions amid praises on social media.

Watch the video below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Celebrities Buzz TV (@celebritiesbuzznews)

According to Nana B, as he is popularly known, the posture and gestures of the party since the beginning of the Supreme Court proceedings are evident enough.

”The Justices of the court were very furious today and their body language said it all but at the end of the day, the NDC will accuse the court of sacrificing justice for expediency,” he said.

Reacting to the development on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, Nana B indicated the actions of the opposition were deliberate to put the apex court in a bad light in the eyes of the public.

However, the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, who also spoke on the same show, took exceptions to Nana B’s claims.

Though he admitted the Justices expressed concerns over their failure to file the witnesses, he added they were soothed by explanations given by their lawyers, Tony Lithur and Tsatsu Tsikata.

“They did not think our action was to spite them and that was why they gave us one more day because no court will give chances to deviants,” he noted.

His comment comes after the petitioner, John Mahama and his lawyers failed to comply with an earlier directive issued last week to file the witness processes by January 21, 2021, to enable hearing of the substantive matter to commence today [January 26, 2021].

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The petitioners have, meanwhile, been given another chance to file their witness statements by close of Wednesday, January 27, 2021, which the NPP has described as lenient.

This comes after the Supreme Court granted Mr Mahama’s motion to amend errors in a petition his lawyers filed on December 30, 2020.

Though the respondents earlier objected to Mr Mahama’s request to be allowed to right the wrongs in his petition, the justices of the apex court gave him the nod to correct the mistakes on Thursday, January 14, 2021.

Taking to social media, Mr Otchere-Darko wrote: “Petitioner, @JDMahama got the 1st victory this morning when court granted his application to correct errors, which was opposed by the respondents.

“The petitioner is asking the court for a rerun because of errors in declaring results. Respondents say those errors were corrected!”

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The mistake, as stated in the motion, was in relief (f) of the election petition.

The election petition filed stated the first respondent (1st) as the Electoral Commission (EC), with the second respondent (2nd) as being President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

However, relief (f) prays the court to order a rerun between Mr Mahama and the first respondent, which, as stated in the petition, turned out to be the EC.

Professor Nii Ashie Kotey, a member of the seven-member panel, said the Supreme Court decided on its own to allow for a live telecast of proceedings, saying, it was in the laws.

Former President John Mahama, the 2020 Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress, had requested that the Apex Court allowed the proceedings to be telecast live.

Mr Mahama is praying the court to annul the presidential election results and organise a “second election” between him and President Nana Akufo-Addo.

President Akufo-Addo and the Electoral Commission, through their lawyers, have filed their respective responses.

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The court, presided over by the Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, directed the petitioners to file their amended processes by 16:00 hours Wednesday, January 14.

The seven-member panel also asked the respondents to also file their responses to the amended processes by Friday, January 15, by 16:00 hours.

The court held that the amendment did not in any way affect the substance contained in the petition.