{{Ghana’s Supreme Court will Tuesday begin hearing the petition against the election of President John Dramani Mahama in a case whose uncertainty has split the country.}}
The petition against the December 2012 election of Mr Mahama is seen as a test of the country’s democracy as the final ruling will produce three results: that the President’s election was flawed and he step down; that his main challenger Nana Akufo-Addo is the winner, or the election be run again.
The case has raised political temperatures in the west African country that has enjoyed peaceful elections over the past 21 years. The difference in votes between the two declared by the EC was just 325,863 out of the total of 11,246,982 votes cast, suggesting the country is divided down the middle and any little spark would likely ignite unrest.
Mr Mahama and Mr Akufo-Addo have given assurances that they would abide by the court’s decision, but observers say that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), which has been consolidating power, would be unlikely to accept a decision that goes against it.
Mr Akufo-Addo and two others from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) filed a petition challenging the election results.
The other petitioners, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who was Mr Akufo-Addo’s running mate, and chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, want the court to annul a total of 4,670,504 votes cast during the presidential polls.
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