Following
the verdict given by the nine Justices on Thursday, August 29, 2013
declaring John Dramani Mahama as a “validly elected” President, several
party functionaries and government officials have been commenting on the
core of the election petition.
With some commending the
flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party and leader of the petitioners,
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo for accepting the verdict and wishing the
country goodluck, the Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto
Ablakwa has raised red flag over certain actions that took place as a
result of the court case.
Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa, speaking on
Radio Gold’s “Alhaji and Alhaji” programme, raised doubts about the
logic and purpose of the petition because, to him, the petition was
awfully characterized by the usage of obscene language and falsehood
just to tarnish the reputation of President John Mahama.
Alluding
to some statements made by members of the main opposition party, who
claimed that the Electoral Commission connived with the President to rig
the 2012 general elections, hence, the pursuit of their case in the
Supreme Court; he dismissed comments that the petition will help make
vital reforms in the electoral system of the country.
To him,
“the conduct, the statements which were made and the deliberate creation
of panic, of fear; has to be highlighted. And all of us must make a
commitment that that is not how you go to court. That is not how you
pursue your case in court and that is not the way and manner that if you
believe you have a case, you carry out your case.”
“There has to
be some honesty, some sincerity in our politics and in the claims that
our political leaders make. You cannot go on the platforms; you cannot
be a Chairman of a party, read statements about how you have discovered
grand rigging schemes and then, when you go to court, you send a
different case to court. And after August 29th, all of us are supposed
to clap for ourselves and be proud of what we have achieved. I take a
different view…
In his earnest view, the petition was a
weightless journey to have been embarked upon by the NPP leaders if the
aim was to cause changes in the electoral process because the nation has
“been having electoral reforms after every election cycle. We have been
reforming and we have been improving the process.”
“Let us shun
the things which we must shun and let us improve on the things that were
commendable, that we can improve on…It is important that we learn the
right lessons, so that we can continue to improve. We can continue to
build the fair and just society which will make all of us proud as
Ghanaians,” he said. |
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