Pratt: I’m shocked the petition was not completely thrown out

“The election petition opened doors for political figures to issue threats on the lives of Judges…threats to cut the heads of opponents of opposing political parties and so on. If this is indeed enriching democracy, then I don’t want to have anything to do with that democracy…I am frightened by what is happened in the last eight months…The case lacked merit from the beginning…In all honesty, I am very very surprised that this case was not completely thrown out. I am shocked that this case was not completely thrown out because it lacked merit,” Kwesi Pratt Jnr.

Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has expressed indignation and shock that the election petition, filed by the opposition New Patriotic Party, intended to revoke the legitimacy of President John Dramani Mahama, was not thrown out by the Supreme Court in its early stages.

Mr. Pratt, addressing his concerns on Radio Gold’s “Alhaji and Alhaji” programme, wondered why the petitioners; Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Jake Obetsebi Lamptey pursued such a ‘frivolous’ journey in court and therefore, to him, held the whole nation to ransom.

According to him, the petition lacked merit and so, the petitioners should have heeded the “wise counsel” of some leading members like Charles Wereko Brobbey, Kwame Pianim and Arthur Kennedy, who in the wake of events at the court, expressed their disgust with the case.

Mr. Pratt strongly believed the petitioners lost their case even before they filed it at the Supreme Court and in his candid opinion, the election petition should have been thrown out by the Judges immediately they (petitioners) nursed interest to pursue their case on the legal lines.

“The effect of the judgement is that the case sent to the Supreme Court by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Jake Okanta Obetsebi Lamptey and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has no merit…“The result is that this country has had to wait for eight long months pouring over pink sheets and doing all manner of things to the detriment of the national economy and to the detriment of the peace of our citizens.

“This is the result of our refusal to listen to wise counsel.”

He noted that the election petition opened doors for political figures to issue “threats on the lives of Judges, unhealthy exchanges between Counsel of both sides in front of the Supreme Court and printable insults being hurled at political opponents and so on. Threats to kill, (threats) to Judges, threats to cut the heads of opponents of opposing political parties and so on. If this is indeed enriching democracy, then I don’t want to have anything to do with that democracy…I am frightened by what is happened in the last eight months.”

“The case lacked merit from the beginning…In all honesty, I am very very surprised that this case was not completely thrown out. I am shocked that this case was not completely thrown out because it lacked merit. There was no merit.”