POLITRICKS OF THE DAY: Supreme Court Will Allow Live TV And Radio Broadcast In NPP Vrs John Mahama Case

Will having cameras and media men in the Court room have an impact on the final verdict? I doubt so…

However, I know TV and Radio broadcast will enable the many Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians interested in this case to follow proceedings closely and be able to decide how much fairness the Court will give to the case…

Whatever it is, we all pray and hope Justice will prevail!

Graphic Online Reports;

There would be a live television and radio broadcast of the landmark electoral petition, which is beginning hearing of the substantive matter on Tuesday April 16.

The National broadcaster, GTV and Radio Ghana would be allowed to survey a set up on Tuesday April 16, 2013.

It is however not clear whether the live broadcast would commence Tuesday on the first day of hearing of the substantive matter, but the subsequent hearing days would be live on television and radio.

Hearing of the landmark electoral petition, which is contesting the declaration of President John Dramani Mahama as the winner of the December 2012 presidential polls begins at the Supreme Court in Accra Tuesday.

The petitioners are expected to call their first witness/and or witnesses Tuesday, depending on how long the witness/witnesses would testify and how long cross-examination would take and if need be, how long the re-examination lasts.

The case, which promises to be a significant historical event in Ghana’s legal and political culture, has the petitioners urging the court to annul 4,670,504 valid votes and subsequently declare the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as the one who won the December 2012 elections.

According to them, Nana Akufo-Addo won the elections by 59.69 per cent while President Mahama polled 39.1 per cent.

They are, therefore, challenging the EC’s declaration of President Mahama as winner of the presidential polls with 50.70 per cent.

However, the EC, which is one of the respondents in the case and the conductor of the polls, is standing by its December 9, 2012 declaration of President Mahama as the winner of the polls with 50.7 per cent while it still holds that Nana Akufo-Addo placed second with 47.7 per cent.