Spokesperson for President Nana Akufo-Addo in the ongoing presidential election petition has bemoaned what he described as “delay tactics” being employed by lawyers of the petitioner, former President John Mahama.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah was certain the many interrogatory applications filed by the petitioner were because they have no case.
“The lawyers are engaging on a fishing expedition; they are waiting for those interrogatories [to be upheld by the court] before you can determine which issues you want to bring up,” he said in an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Tuesday.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, dismissed a motion by Mr Mahama seeking permission to elicit answers to some 12 interrogatories from the Electoral Commission (EC).
The interrogatories, according to lead Counsel Tsatsu Tsikata, are critical to help the court determine the validity of the results used in declaring President Akufo-Addo winner of the December 7 general election.
But the court dismissed the application and asked the petitioners to propose their issues. However, lawyers for Mr Mahama asked the court to give them up o Thursday, January 21, 2021.
This position, Mr Oppong Nkrumah found very strange, especially when they filed their petition last year.
The former Information Minister cited how the court registry has been instructed to work even on weekends for a speedy trial but the lawyers waited till last minute to file their applications to buttress his point.
Based on this backdrop, he noted that this tactic being employed by Mr Mahama’s lawyers is an attempt to delay the process.
He said lawyers of the second respondent President Akufo-Addo cannot wait to go into the substantive matter to prove to supporters of the National Democratic Congress that they don’t have a case.
He was happy the justices of the Supreme Court did not give lawyers of former President Mahama the chance to engage in legal gymnastics.