Ghana Can Handle Fallout From Vote Dispute - John Kufuor
Ghana ex-president John Kufuor said Wednesday that the resurgent west African nation could withstand any fallout from his party's court ...
http://www.africaeagle.com/2013/01/ghana-can-handle-fallout-from-vote.html
Ghana ex-president John Kufuor said Wednesday that the resurgent west African nation could withstand any fallout from his party's court challenge to incumbent John Dramani Mahama's election win last month.
Kufuor, respected for having stepped down from office after his two terms despite his NPP party losing 2008 presidential polls by less than one percentage point, also told AFP he had confidence in the supreme court, which will review the case.
"Unless you test it, you won't know it, but I'm sure Ghana has the capacity to absorb this declaration or ruling of the court," Kufuor told AFP in an interview at his home in the capital Accra.
"I don't think overturning the results will lead to some very radical change."
The vote dispute has been viewed as a test of Ghana's reputation as an emerging model African democracy.
Kufuor generated mild controversy this week when he decided to attend Mahama's inauguration as president despite the court challenge from his New Patriotic Party and its candidate Nana Akufo-Addo.
He has said he felt obligated to attend the ceremony as a former president and statesman.
But regarding the court claims, which allege improprieties involving some 1.3 million votes, Kufuor said he believes his party made them in good faith and they deserved a fair hearing.
"These claims were not made lightly," Kufuor said.
"Knowing the people who have done this work, I want to believe that the claims are worth being scrutinised by the supreme court."
The 74-year-old former leader, who was president from 2001-2009, added that "if there's any rigging, let's pinpoint ... I believe the suspicion should lie squarely at the doorstep of the electoral commission."
Official results from the December 7-8 polls showed Mahama with 50.7 percent of the vote compared to Akufo-Addo's 47.7 percent.
Observers said the polls were free and fair, calling them another successful election in a country seen as a rare stable democracy in turbulent west Africa.
But Akufo-Addo is suing Mahama and the electoral commission in Ghana's supreme court, claiming that over 1.3 million votes were cast improperly, enough so that the 68-year-old former attorney general should have been elected.
The stakes in last month's elections were especially high in the country of some 24 million people, with the country having begun pumping oil in 2010 in addition to being a major exporter of gold and cocoa.
In a court filing made on Monday, an attorney for the electoral commission denied the NPP's claims and called them "baseless." The supreme court is expected to hear oral arguments in the coming weeks.
Kufuor said he expected the court, which includes justices appointed during his administration, to give the case an impartial hearing.
"The supreme court is made up of ... the highest level of the judiciary, who swear on the constitution and before their faith, be they Christians or Muslims, to do justice without fear or favour and to all manner of persons equally," Kufuor said.
"So I want to believe they will do their work according to the oath they have sworn."
Kufuor said he was confident the party would abide by whatever the nation's highest court ruled.
"If we've lost our petition and we expect the court to dispense justice fairly, without fear or favour as they are sworn to ... I believe my party would accept and work with (the verdict)."
Kufuor remains the only president to be elected from the NPP. Akufo-Addo lost the 2008 vote by less than one percentage point.
Mahama, who initially became head of state in July after the death of his predecessor John Atta Mills, belongs to the National Democratic Congress.
The NDC's founder is former president Jerry Rawlings, the military ruler turned elected leader who helped usher in the current era.
"Unless you test it, you won't know it, but I'm sure Ghana has the capacity to absorb this declaration or ruling of the court," Kufuor told AFP in an interview at his home in the capital Accra.
"I don't think overturning the results will lead to some very radical change."
The vote dispute has been viewed as a test of Ghana's reputation as an emerging model African democracy.
Kufuor generated mild controversy this week when he decided to attend Mahama's inauguration as president despite the court challenge from his New Patriotic Party and its candidate Nana Akufo-Addo.
He has said he felt obligated to attend the ceremony as a former president and statesman.
But regarding the court claims, which allege improprieties involving some 1.3 million votes, Kufuor said he believes his party made them in good faith and they deserved a fair hearing.
"These claims were not made lightly," Kufuor said.
"Knowing the people who have done this work, I want to believe that the claims are worth being scrutinised by the supreme court."
The 74-year-old former leader, who was president from 2001-2009, added that "if there's any rigging, let's pinpoint ... I believe the suspicion should lie squarely at the doorstep of the electoral commission."
Official results from the December 7-8 polls showed Mahama with 50.7 percent of the vote compared to Akufo-Addo's 47.7 percent.
Observers said the polls were free and fair, calling them another successful election in a country seen as a rare stable democracy in turbulent west Africa.
But Akufo-Addo is suing Mahama and the electoral commission in Ghana's supreme court, claiming that over 1.3 million votes were cast improperly, enough so that the 68-year-old former attorney general should have been elected.
The stakes in last month's elections were especially high in the country of some 24 million people, with the country having begun pumping oil in 2010 in addition to being a major exporter of gold and cocoa.
In a court filing made on Monday, an attorney for the electoral commission denied the NPP's claims and called them "baseless." The supreme court is expected to hear oral arguments in the coming weeks.
Kufuor said he expected the court, which includes justices appointed during his administration, to give the case an impartial hearing.
"The supreme court is made up of ... the highest level of the judiciary, who swear on the constitution and before their faith, be they Christians or Muslims, to do justice without fear or favour and to all manner of persons equally," Kufuor said.
"So I want to believe they will do their work according to the oath they have sworn."
Kufuor said he was confident the party would abide by whatever the nation's highest court ruled.
"If we've lost our petition and we expect the court to dispense justice fairly, without fear or favour as they are sworn to ... I believe my party would accept and work with (the verdict)."
Kufuor remains the only president to be elected from the NPP. Akufo-Addo lost the 2008 vote by less than one percentage point.
Mahama, who initially became head of state in July after the death of his predecessor John Atta Mills, belongs to the National Democratic Congress.
The NDC's founder is former president Jerry Rawlings, the military ruler turned elected leader who helped usher in the current era.
