Ghana’s main opposition presidential candidate in the December 2020 elections has filed a petition at the country’s Supreme Court seeking to annul President Nana Akufo-Addo’s re-election.
John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) refused to concede the election to President Akufo-Addo claiming electoral irregularities.
According to Mr. Mahama’s petition, he argues that neither he nor President Akufo-Addo attained a clear majority because of the omission of one constituency from the provisional declaration of results by Ghana’s electoral commission.
He is now asking the Supreme Court to order a re-run of the presidential election for him and the incumbent.
According to the electoral commission President Akufo-Addo garnered 51.59% of the votes while Mr. Mahama got 47.37%.
Following changes to election adjudication guidelines, the petition hearing is expected to last for at most 42 days — a far cry from the eight-month-long hearing in 2012 when President Akufo-Addo, then in opposition, unsuccessfully challenged his election defeat to Mr. Mahama.
The judgment in the hearing is expected latest by February 10, 2021.
President Akufo-Addo is proceeding with his transition and is yet to comment on the legal challenge from his opponent. His party has also just held a thanksgiving service in commemoration of the election victory.
In a public address after filing the petition, Mr. Mahama stressed that his challenge of the election results was not a mere manifestation of a desire for power but “because of a dedication to principle and a commitment to democracy.”
He said he was only chasing “the removal of doubt.”
“I want all of us to know that our elections should be free, fair, and safe and that we do not have to settle for a process that leaves us confused and with more questions than answers,” said Mr. Mahama.
The weeks leading to the petition have been marked by protests nationwide from the opposition.
These protests have been met by calls from some observers for Mr. Mahama to opt for court action and not civil disobedience.
There were fears that the protests could transition to violence because of clashes between protesters and police.
The Institute of Democratic Governance has been part of calls to the NDC and Mr. Mahama to air its grievances in court.
A research fellow with the institute, Ewald Garr, told Ubuntu Times the eventual resort to an election petition was the best possible outcome given the circumstances.
“For IDEG, we have advocated that instead of violence, they should use legal means to pursue some of these so the NDC going to court is in order.”
“The most important thing is not to engage in acts of violence that could destabilize the country. Nobody wants to see that,” said Mr. Garr.