The Supreme Court of Ghana has come into joining of heads on ruling that the Electoral Commission Chairperson Jean Mensah and Mac Manu cannot be forced to give testimonies in the ongoing election petition.
The ruling was made today, Thursday February 11, 2021 on the back of an application filed by the electoral commission lead counsel. Justice Amenuvor and that of the President’s,Akoto Apaw where they asked permission for no witness to be called.
The court is not convinced by the contrary arguments made by Tsatsu Tsikata, lead counsel for the petitioner says Chief Justice Kwasi Amin-Yeboah who read the ruling. According to him, they were given a limited jurisdiction in the election petition and do not want to go beyond that jurisdiction.
It Reads: “We are minded to state that our jurisdiction invoked in this election petition is a limited jurisdiction clearly circumscribed by law. We do not intend to extend our mandate beyond what the law requires of us in such petitions brought under Article 64(1)challenging the validity of the election of a president. Simply put, we are not convinced, and we will not yield to the invitation being extended to us by counsel for the petitioner to order the respondents to enter the witness box to be crossed examined. Accordingly, We hereby overrule the objection raised by the counsel for the petitioner against the decision of the respondents declining to adduce evidence in this petition, he added.
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Counsel for the respondents insisted that the evidence put forth by the petitioner, John Mahama does not meet the burden of the proof thereby making it unnecessary to put a witness for a counter case.
Mr. Amenovor relied on Order 36 order sub-rule 4, and rule 38, rule 3(e) sub rule 1 and 5 out CI 47 as amended by CI 87 as the basis for their decision to close their case and not call a witness.
Source:GhNewspress.com
