The Supreme Court has ordered for a head count of the number of exhibits of pink sheets, delivered by the petitioners to the registrar of the court and served on the respondents in the election petition hearing.

The court, has thus appointed accounting firm, KPMG International to serve as a referee in the counting.

The court gave the ruling after Counsel for the Third Respondents (the governing National Democratic Congress) accused the petitioners of padding to deceive the court.

Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, on Thursday asserted in Court that the Petitioners challenging the 2012 presidential election results did not submit 11,842 pink sheets to the Court as they have always insisted.

He therefore prayed the Court to allow a physical count of pink sheet exhibits sworn in affidavits by the petitioners and submitted to the Court to ascertain the exact number.

Counsel also averred that the pink sheets tendered in evidence at the Court Registrar’s office in the Court fell far short of the 11,842 pink sheets, adding that his team had “checked with the registry” and declared that “what we have received is all they have received. They have not shortchanged us”.

“I respectfully… apply to your lordship at this stage [that] we have two counts one simply an addition of all the exhibits he [Dr.Bawumia] himself has identified to have attached to his affidavits and the second count of the exhibits that were received by the Registry in respect of the affidavits of the second petitioner… in the interest of justice.”

His request was backed by Counsel for the First Respondent, (President Mahama), Tony Lithur and Quarshie-Idun, leading the legal team of the Second Respondent (the Electoral Commission), who insisted for an auditing of the figures.

Philip Addison, Lead Counsel for the Petitioners, did not in principle object to the auditing of the exhibits, but questioned the timing of the call of the auditing.

After hours of deliberations by the nine panel judge presiding on the election petition case, Chairman of the bench Justice Atuguba ruled that the audit has been granted.

He added that the parties are at liberty to appoint two representatives to supervise the audit which is to be done by accounting firm KPMG.

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