General News of Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Source: radioxyzonline

EC’s pink sheets are suspicious - Bawumia

The key witness in the election petition case, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has told the Supreme Court that some of the election records (pink sheets) provided by the Electoral Commission are “suspect”.

At his cross-examination on Tuesday, April 30, 2013, by the Counsel for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, Dr. Bawumia said: “There are a lot of exhibits, pink sheets provided by the second respondent that are suspect my lord”.

Dr. Bawumia however admitted that those same suspicious exhibits which he and the two other petitioners are relying on to prove their case of alleged electoral malfeasance, were exhibits tendered in evidence by the three petitioners, including himself.

He explained that he found a lot of the pink sheets suspicious “because of the violations, irregularities and malpractices embedded in the pink sheets”.

Dr. Bawumia also said the petitioners are suspicious of signatures which purport to be those of polling agents of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) found on many of the pink sheets on which the certified election results were recorded and signed by the various parties that contested the December 7 and 8 general elections.

Mr. Tsikata began cross-examining Dr. Bawumia on Monday April 29, 2013 after the Electoral Commission’s Counsel, Mr. Quashie-Idun ended his cross examination of the second petitioner in the case in which the credibility and validity of the results of the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections have been called into question by three petitioners.

The main opposition New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2012 Flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his running mate Dr. Bawumia and the Party’s National Chairman, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey claim over 4 million votes must be annulled by the Supreme Court, since, in their view, the elections were fraught with violations, omissions and irregularities.

President John Mahama, the Electoral Commission and the governing party are the three respondents in the case.