海角大神

The inauguration of Ghana鈥檚 president,聽John Dramani Mahama, on Monday was packed with visiting heads of state and foreign dignitaries, but perhaps the most important guests to take a seat in Accra鈥檚 expansive Independence Square were the robed judges of the country鈥檚 Supreme Court.

They have been tasked with deciding if the 54-year-old president really won last month鈥檚 election or if the voting was marred by fraud, as the country鈥檚 largest opposition party alleges in a lawsuit filed after the results were announced.

President Mahama 鈥撀燼 former vice president who took over in July after President John Atta Mills died in office 鈥撀爓as elected to a full term with 51.7 percent of the vote to the 47.7 percent garnered by New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate Nana Akufo-Addo. International observers call the vote free and fair.

Soon after the votes were announced, the NPP emerged with allegations that the vote had been stolen by Mahama鈥檚 National Democratic Congress, and promised to take both the president and the electoral commission to court to prove it. Until the court rules, the challenge will hang over Ghana's聽regionally respected track record in elections and the聽rule of law.

鈥淚t is not an easy decision for us to tell the people of Ghana that we will not accept the results of the election as declared by the chairman of the electoral commission,鈥� Mr. Akufo-Addo told a press conference late last month. 鈥淏ut we had to accept the responsibility of righting what in our view was the wrong of an invalid election.鈥�

Mahama鈥檚 inauguration speech called for unity in the West African nation 鈥撀爃ome to a fast-growing economy and a stable democracy that鈥檚 seen three peaceful transitions between presidents.

But before that unity can be achieved, the 13 judges in the whitewashed colonial building down the street from Independence Square will have to figure out what, if anything, went wrong with last month鈥檚 polls, and what to do about it.

Akufo-Addo鈥檚 lawsuit alleges that 1.3 million votes were improperly cast, and asks the judges to reverse the outcome of the election to give him the victory.

The lawsuit claims foul-ups ranging from unsigned ballots to ballots cast without use of the new biometric verification system. The system scans voters鈥� fingerprints to prevent fraud, but ended up breaking down in some polling places.

A study released last year by the World Justice Project ranked Ghana as one of the most steadfast in the region when it comes to rule of law, and with a court composed of jurors appointed by different presidents, how they鈥檒l rule on Akufo-Addo鈥檚 challenge is anyone鈥檚 guess.

Isaac Owusu-Mensah, a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, said the case is a chance for the court to rise above the country鈥檚 often-feisty partisan politics.

鈥淣ow [the court] has an opportunity to show their [independence], that the judiciary is not in bed with the opposition or the government,鈥� says Mr. Owusu-Mensah in a phone interview.

Owusu-Mensah questions how well the court would receive some of the evidence brought forth by the NPP, but says the party鈥檚 claim that people voted without verification may prove decisive when the justices consider the case.

鈥淭he law says in a polling station, if there鈥檚 no verification, there鈥檚 no voting. The votes will not be counted,鈥� says Owusu-Mensah. 鈥淚t means that Mahama wouldn鈥檛 have gotten 50 percent and Akufo-Addo wouldn鈥檛 have gotten 50 percent.鈥�

That would force a runoff vote, which would send Ghanaians back to the polls.