The Supreme Court of Ghana on Thursday dismissed a petition by the New Patriotic Party challenging the election of President John Mahama.
The court, in a brief judgment, said evidence before it showed that Mahama was validly elected at the 2012 presidential election.
The case was presided over by nine judges who had a consensus opinion on the validity of the election.
According to the court, the judges’ personal opinions on other issues in the case will be made public at a later date.
It said that Ghana’s election commission proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mahama was the true winner of the presidential election.
The NPP had petitioned the court, alleging gross irregularities and massive rigging during the election.
The election commission had declared Mahama winner of the election with 50.70 per cent of the votes cast, beating his challenger, NPP’s Nana Akufo-Addo, who polled 44.7 per cent.
Ghana’s apex court is empowered by Article 64 (1, 2 and 3) of the 1992 Constitution and the Supreme Court Amendment Rules, 2012, (CI 74) to determine issues bothering on presidential elections.
Article 64(1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution states that the validity of the election of the president may be challenged only by a citizen of Ghana.
“Such citizen may present a petition for the purpose to the Supreme Court within 21 days after the declaration of the results of the election in respect of which the petition is presented,” it further states.
Meanwhile the judgment has severally been described by Ghanaians “as a moment of truth for Ghana and a compass for the next political direction in the country.”
The atmosphere in Accra, Ghana’s capital city, was quiet and serene all through the morning and early afternoon hours as Ghanaians awaited the judgment.
The usual brisk vehicular and human movements that characterised working days disappeared hours before the nine-member panel of judges took their seats.
Motorists spent less than 10 minutes to drive from Achimota to the Central Business District, a distance that usually took about an hour due to heavy traffic.
Security personnel were stationed in strategic locations in Accra while some patrolled the city.
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