The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has told the Supreme Court that his party viewed the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission accurately, and saw the reflection of her in their eyes.
According to him, it was on that basis that the party made statements about her from when she was appointed through to her declaration of the 2020 presidential result.
As the first witness of the petitioner, Asiedu Nketiah was being cross-examined yesterday by the Lead Counsel of the 2nd respondent, Lawyer Akoto Ampaw.
After establishing the strategic roles the witness played in his party as the Chief Executive, Akoto Ampaw recalled the posture of the NDC towards the EC boss, Jean Mensa.
He said: “…Now, you remember that when the President of the Republic in July 2018 appointed the current Chairperson or 1st Respondent, your reaction as General Secretary to the appointment was that you were shocked and disappointed, because 1st Respondent is a known pro-NPP and an anti-NDC person?” the witness said yes to that.
Counsel continued to remind the witness that, indeed, when the 1st Respondent announced that they were going to compile a new voter’s register, the NDC alleged that it was a move to favour the 2nd Respondent; a claim the witness said they had basis for.
Counsel then said: I put it to you that you and your party, including the petitioner, viewed the Chairperson, or the respondent, with a jaundiced eye and had a predetermined position on her alleged lack of neutrality?
Answering the question, the witness, Asiedu Nketiah, said: “My Lord, we viewed her accurately and saw the reflection of her in our eyes, and that was the basis on which we made those statements.”
Akoto Ampaw continued: “So, it was based on those unfounded prejudices that you have against the Chairman of the 1st respondent that you are doing everything to discredit the elections. I put it to you?”
Asiedu Nketiah answered: “My Lord, I have not said anywhere that the prejudices were unfounded. I’m saying that they were founded on solid facts.”
The above part of the cross-examination by the 2nd Respondent’s lead counsel ushered the exercise into a time of mathematics, where the witness was made to calculate some figures.
These were to demonstrate whether, truly, the figures, as provided by the 1st Respondents, were problematic.
As such, Asiedu Nketiah, who took over social media with his video of punching calculator in the courtroom last Friday, was again given a calculator for yet another phase of computation.
The scenes, triggered by the Lead Counsel for the 2nd Respondent, Akoto Ampaw, were to tally the figures provided by the 1st Respondent, based on which the petitioner was in court.
Yesterday, the counsel for the 2nd respondent, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, put it to the witness for the petitioner, John Dramani Mahama, after playing a video of the declaration the Electoral Commission Chairperson made on December 9, there was an error.
According to the counsel, the Chairperson mentioned the figure for the total votes cast instead of the total valid votes cast.
He added that the petitioner dwelt on total votes cast instead of total valid votes to make his case.
He further stated that if one computed the total figures of the valid votes, all the presidential candidates obtained would show that what the Chairperson mentioned was an error.
“I’m putting it to you that you used this erroneous figure as the basis for calling for a re-run between the 2nd respondent and the petitioner,” Ampaw quizzed, to which the witness, Asiedu Nketiah, answered in the affirmative.
The post We saw a reflection of Jean Mensah in our eyes -Mosquito appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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