General News of Sunday, 4 August 2013

Source: myradiogoldlive

I've no doubt Akufo-Addo lost the 2012 election – Bernard Mornah

General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Bernard Mornah, says he has no doubt that Nana Akufo-Addo, flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2012 presidential election lost the race to his contender, President John Dramani Mahama.

Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, are in court challenging the legitimacy of President Mahama.

The petitioners alleged electoral malpractices and irregularities in the 2012 presidential elections and are pleading that some votes of President Mahama be annulled.

Speaking on Radio Gold’s current affairs programme Alhaji and Alhaji on Saturday with Alhassan Suhuyini, Bernard Mornah blamed the NPP flagbearer for toeing a tribal line in his quest to campaign for votes.

He said “I think that in this election whiles others went on the path of a national campaign, others went on the path of a sectional campaign…eight out of ten regions delivered emphatic victory for President Mahama. Two regions heeded to the call of ‘yen Akanfuor’ and voted for you (Nana Akufo-Addo) but even that your votes declined. I have no doubt that at the end of the day you lost the elections”.

Bernard Mornah also narrated an anecdote that history has shown that any presidential candidate who gets majority representation in parliament is likely to win the election, adding that the NPP could not have won the 2012 elections with minority in parliament.

“In 1996, the party with the highest majority in parliament won the presidential elections. In 2000, obviously, the first time an opposition took over government, they (NPP) won majority of the seats and therefore they formed the government. In 2004, a similar trend repeated…in 2008 President Mills won the election with a majority because it has been the trend…

“In 2012, I think that the number was swollen…it is obvious that Nana Addo could not have won such an election”, he said.

According to Bernard Mornah, the 1992 constitution states that justice emanates from the people hence the actions of “presiding officers in the 2012 elections should not be visited on voters”.