I’m not afraid of the truth - Tsatsu to Bawumia

The Lead Counsel for the governing National Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, has rebuffed assertions by the key witness in the ongoing election petition, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia that he (Mr. Tsikata) is afraid of the truth.

Mr. Tsikata’s riposte followed a challenge thrown to him in open Court by Dr. Bawumia, in a near-shouting game between the two, over who was “afraid of the truth” and who was being “dishonest” with the Court.

The heated verbal exchange was sparked by an attempt by Mr. Tsikata to portray the former Vice Presidential Candidate of the main opposition New Patriotic Party, NPP, as a “dishonest” witness.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Mr. Tsikata confronted Dr. Bawumia with a pink sheet which he claimed was used more than once by the Witness and his team in their analysis, through which the Petitioners concluded that there was rigging in the 2012 elections.

The witness, however, insisted that a simple reference to the digital version of his analysis will vindicate his repetitive assertions that none of the pink sheets was used more than once.

On Thursday April 25, 2013, Dr. Bawumia unfurled a similar charged against the Electoral Commission which is the Second Respondent in the case while he was being cross-examined by the EC’s Lead Counsel Mr. Quashie-Idun.

“They were afraid to receive the truth”, he told the Supreme Court in response to a question from the second respondent’s counsel, which sought to indict him of duplicating election records in his analysis.

His answer was in relation to some electoral data from the Ashanti region which were tendered in evidence by his Counsel to buttress their argument that there were widespread irregularities, violations, and omissions which led to the Electoral Commission’s declaration of the first Respondent, President John Mahama, as the winner of the 2012 presidential poll.

The Petitioners, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the main opposition New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2012 Presidential Candidate, together with his Running Mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the Party’s National Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey is challenging the validity of the 2012 presidential polls.

They claim there were widespread irregularities as well as strategically planned rigging, through the collusion of the first Respondent, President John Mahama and the Second Respondent, the Electoral Commission.

They, therefore, are praying the Supreme Court to annul results in over 11,000 polling stations where they claim massive and strategic rigging occurred.

Dr Bawumia has been under cross-examination for the past two weeks.