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Ghana: Supreme Court could nullify election vote and overturn Mahama presidency – setting a precendent for Africa
International electoral observers gave the December election a clean bill of health despite technical glitches with voting machines that forced voting to be extended into a second day.
At the heart of the legal case, however, lies a battle over pink sheets containing data from polling stations.
Opposition lawyers say 11,138 sheets from the total of more than 26,000 should be invalidated because of irregularities.
Those sheets represent 4 million votes which could swing the election in favor of Akufo-Addo, opposition lawyers say.
They point to evidence including duplicate sheets, over-voting at some polling stations and a failure by officials to sign some sheets correctly which could suggest fraud.
“We are praying that John Mahama is removed and Akufo-Addo is installed based on the numbers. But we would not be surprised if the court decides that there has to be a run-off,” NPP spokesman Nana Akomea said in an interview.
NDC lawyers say that minor errors by local officials do not amount to an attempt to subvert the vote and that the electoral law should be applied to protect the rights of the voter.
Ghana has held four peaceful elections since 2000, with both main parties calmly relinquishing power. December’s poll was the first in Africa using biometric data for voter registration.
