Tsatsu Vs. Bawumia Cross-Examination Nears End

The election petition hearing has been adjourned to today Tuesday May 21, 2013 after a brief session Monday morning. The adjournment is to enable the petitioners� star witness Dr Mahamudu Bawumia go through a long list of pink sheets provided by Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, counsel for the National Democratic Congress (NDC). At a short recess earlier on Monday, there was consensus from all the parties that the matter should be adjourned to tomorrow � Tuesday so as to enable the witness more time to peruse the document. The President of the panel, Justice William Atuguba who gave the court's blessing to the agreement and for the courtroom to be used for the exercise, sarcastically asked the parties to come with a calabash of fresh palm-wine when hearing resumes Tuesday. In other that there will be no such further adjournments counsel for the petitioners, Philip Addision prayed that all the necessary documents should be given to them to which the respondents said that was their last list. It was the 12th day of the cross-examination by counsel for the NDC, Mr Tsatsu Tsikata in the election petition hearing and also marked the 19th day of the hearing of the substantive matter. The petitioners are contesting the declaration of President John Dramani Mahama as the winner of the December 2012 presidential polls. At the court�s last sitting Thursday May 16, 2013, Mr Tsikata pulled a list of 32 polling stations from his file and sought to cross-examine Dr Bawumia on them, but Mr Addison opposed the move and said he did not see why Mr Tsikata should cross-examine on documents which did not have primary sources. According to Mr Addison, what Mr Tsikata was seeking to tender was from the original list the petitioners had provided to him. Mr Tsikata responded and said the source of his document was the pink sheets. But at Monday morning�s sitting the court overruled Mr Addison's objection. The court explained that the list of 32 sought to be tendered was based on questions and answers emanating from the exhibits to which it relates. It said that was a process fully gone through and that if the evidence relating to it was already on record, the list thereto, which is merely an index to the pink sheets covered by it was merely facilitatory for tracking the evidence already so covered. Mr Tsikata continued with his cross examination afterwards and tendered the document. He asked Dr Bawumia to confirm if there was some duplication of some sort but counsel for the petitioners, Mr Philip Addision raised an objection. He said counsel cannot proceed to ask questions on a document that was not before the court and argued that if it was the wish of the court for Mr Tsikata to go ahead then he prayed similar courtesies would be extended to the petitioners if the time comes. The panel of judges asked Mr Tsikata to clarify the sort of document he had in his possession and he said it was based on a list of exhibits provided by the witness and on which he has a number of questions to ask. The objection by counsel for the petitioners was overruled. Mr Tsikata then provided another list for Dr Bawumia to peruse. The court went on a short recess whiles the witness went through the document. But when later all the parties realised that the witness could not readily finish perusing the documents, they agreed for the matter to be adjourned to Tuesday May 21, 2013 so that the rest of the day could be used to look at the documents. The petitioners filed the petition on December 28, 2012 and alleged that the December 7 and 8, 2012 presidential election was fraught with malpractices of over-voting, non-signing of pink sheets by presiding officers or their assistants, voting without biometric verification and duplicated serial numbers of pink sheets. However, President Mahama, the EC and the NDC have denied that any such irregularities occurred during the election.