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The petitioners in the Supreme Court case challenging the results of the 2012 Presidential election on Sunday

afternoon satisfied the Supreme Courts order of 2nd April, 2013, by filing affidavits of witness evidence they

intend to use to prove their case that the 1st petitioner, Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party, shouldhave been rightfully declared as winner of the December polls and not John Mahama, the candidate of the ruling

National Democratic Congress.

The filing of the three petitionersaffidavit evidence means that the three respondents in the case have up toFriday, 12th April to file their respective affidavits, as well, for hearing to begin on Tuesday, 16th April.

Sunday, Egbert Faibille and Alex Quainoo, two of the lawyers for the petitioners, were seen carrying truck-loadof boxes of evidence to the office of the Supreme Court Registrar. Over 400,000 documents in all were expected

to be filed, with 15 copies of each, supplied to all parties in the suit, plus the nine justices on the panel.

The main affidavit contains 83 paragraphs, which spells out the case for the petitioners, supported by boxes ofdocumentary evidence from polling stations. Thus, in addition to the handful of affidavits filed, the petitioners

submitted evidence in the form of colour photocopies of pink sheets (Statement of Poll and Declaration of

Results Form) from 11,842 polling stations, where they are disputing the results as declared.

The petitioners have based their case mainly on the facts and figures on the pink sheets, the official document

that the Electoral Commission relied on to declare the results of the presidential poll held on 7th and 8th

December. They have also grounded their case on clear breaches of the Constitution and other electoral laws andpractices in Ghana.

Also, evidence in the form of video, audio and newspaper clippings were submitted by the petitioners Sunday tosupport their case.

According to the 3 petitioners, Nana Akufo-Addo, Mahamudu Bawumia and Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, there are

six main categories of irregularities, malpractices, violations and omissions in various combinations whichaffected the results of the election in the 11,842 polling stations, which have irredeemably damaged a total of

4,637,305 votes in the process, and must, therefore, be annulled.

These are laid out in 24 grounds, which are distinct and mutually exclusive categories in which no polling

station can belong to more than one category, thereby avoiding double counting, the affidavit by Dr Bawumia,

the NPP running mate in the election, says.

Also in his affidavit, the 2nd petitioner, Dr Bawumia, makes a startling revelation by stating that many of the

2,883 names supplied by the Electoral Commission as representing the people who were registered abroad to

vote were forged, repeated and fell way below the 241,000 which the EC first told the court it registered abroad.

The six broad categories of infractions are (i) over-voting, (ii) voting without biometric verification, (iii) multipl

pink sheets with the same serial numbers, (iv) pink sheets without the signatures of the presiding officer or their

deputies, (v) same polling station codes for different pink sheets and (vi) unknown polling stations, 23 in all.

To support their case for annulment of votes in affected polling areas, the petitioners have attached a video tape

of the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari Djan, the returning officer in the presidential election. It showshim on 5th December, 2012, addressing the public at a press conference held at the Ghana International Press

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Centre, Accra.

He is quoted as saying in the video: Let me also share with you some of the firm decisions that we have takentogether with the political parties: NVNVNO VERIFICATION, NO VOTING. And by verification we mean

everybody will have to be verified biometrically. We have agreed in principle that where the votes found in the

ballot box outnumber the persons verified to vote, the results of that polling station will be cancelled.

The petitioners say that the true result of the 2012 presidential election, after it is cured of all the infractions

through the necessary annulments, should see Nana Akufo-Addo earning 59.55%, with the first respondent, John

Mahama, obtaining 39.17% of the valid votes cast.

They are therefore asking the court to declare that John Mahama was not validly elected and that the court

should invoke its constitutional and statutory powers to declare Nana Akufo-Addo as the validly elected

president of the Republic.

Over-voting, as explained in the affidavit, were uncovered in polling stations where either votes cast exceeded

the total number of registered voters; or votes exceeded the total number of ballot papers issued to voters onvoting day in violation of Article 42 of the Constitution and Regulation 24 (1) of C. I. 75.

To underline the strength of their case, which, according to the issues laid down by the court, the petitioners have

shown in clear terms that most of the six categories, can on their own, show that John Mahama, the presidentialcandidate of the NDC, who was declared winner by the EC on December 9, was not validly elected, which

requires over 50% of the valid votes cast.

The affidavit of Dr Bawumia, the head of the NPP research team that undertook the statistics analysis of the

election results, says that if the only violations complained of in this petition were the over-votes in the 2065

polling stations and the votes in those polling stations were annulled as required by law, the 1st Respondent,

John Dramani Mahama, would have 49.1% of the valid votes cast, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo wouldhave 49.3% of the valid votes cast.

Furthermore, if the only violations complained of were voting without biometric verification in the 2,279polling stations and the votes in those polling stations were annulled, the 1st Respondent, John Dramani

Mahama, would have obtained 49.13% of the valid votes cast, and 1st Petitioner, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-

Addo would have obtained 49.38% of the valid votes cast.

Also, if the only malpractice complained of were the instances of same serial numbers for different polling

stations with different results in the 10, 533 polling stations and the votes in the polling stations where these

occurred were annulled, the 1st Respondent, John Dramani Mahama, would have obtained 41.1% of the validvotes cast, and the 1st Petitioner, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would have obtained 57.55% of the valid

votes cast.

Again, if the only violations complained of were absence of the signatures of the presiding officers in the 1,826polling stations and the votes in these polling stations were annulled, the 1st Respondent, John Dramani

Mahama, would have obtained 49.45% of the valid votes cast, and the 1st Petitioner, Nana Addo Dankwa

Akufo-Addo would have obtained 49.03% of the valid votes cast.

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He goes on to show that, as a matter of fact, however, these violations, irregularities and malpractices occurred

in different combinations in as many as 11,842 polling stations. In the result, I am advised by counsel and verily

believe same to be true that what must be taken into account is the impact of the combined effect of theseviolations, irregularities and malpractices on the outcome of the election as declared by the 2nd Respondent.

Thus, if the impact of the combined effect of these violations, irregularities and malpractices on the outcome ofthe election as declared by the 2nd Respondent is taken into account, the 1st Petitioner is the person who oughtto be declared as having been validly elected as President of the Republic of Ghana.

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Your mother was right when she said that breakfast was the most important meal of the day.Some of the (many) reasons why, however, may surprise you.

1. 1. Eating Breakfast Helps You Lose Weight If you skip breakfast, you're saving calories,therefore losing weight, right? WRONG. Contrary to popular belief (and maybe counter

intuitively) eating breakfast actually helps you lose weight.

If you eat dinner at 7, go to bed at 10:30 p.m. and skip breakfast, by the time you're

eating lunch at 1 p.m., your body hasn't fueled up in 18 hours! When you go that long

without eating, our body goes in to preservation mode, meaning that it conserves energy.Conserving energy means that your metabolism is slowing down. So not only are you not

burning calories and fat as efficiently, you're also going to be plagued with low energy all

day.

Eating breakfast revs our metabolic engines so that they're ready for prime calorie burnall day. In addition, studies show that people who skip breakfast actually end up eating

more throughout the dayto the tune of about 100 calories, according to a studypublished in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

2. 2. People Who Eat Breakfast Are Less Likely to Be Obese In recent years, obesity hassurpassed smoking as the number one leading cause of preventable death in the United

States. So why not make our first big decision of the day to ward off obesity by eating

breakfast?

Not only do breakfast-eaters consume fewer calories, but in a study published in the

Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers found that people who ate abreakfast containing more than one-quarter of their daily calories ate better than thosewho skipped their morning meal. As further support, and to really hammer the point

home, a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people who skip

breakfast are four-and-a-half times more likely to be obese than those who eat breakfast.

3. 3. Breakfast Eaters are Healthier Eaters All Day In a 2011 study published in in NutritionResearch and Practice, researchers found that people who eat breakfast consume less fat

and more nutrients (like vitamins, minerals and fiber) than their breakfast-skippingcounterparts. Not only that, they found that compared to breakfast-eaters, breakfast-

skippers tend to weigh more and have other unhealthy habits, such over-indulging on

sugary drinks or bad-for-you snacks.

And there's no small difference between the two groups. Studies show that breakfast-

skippers consume a whopping 40% more sweets, 55% more sugary drinks (like soda),

45% fewer vegetables and 30% less fruit those who regularly eat breakfast.

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4. 4. It Improves Brain Power (Especially in Kids) We all know that proper nutrition affectsour kids' physical development. But can it really boost their brain power, too? All signs

point to YES.

A recent study out this year from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing found

that children who eat breakfast regularly had significantly higher full scale, verbal and

performance IQ test scores. While compelling, these results are not surprising to thescientific community because quality nutrition in early childhood has been continually

linked to increased intelligence and even decreased behavioral disorders through to later

childhood, and even greater happiness and success as adults. As an added bonus, eating a

healthy breakfast has been shown to boost memory and attention skills in children andadults.

5. 5. Decreases The Likelihood of Developing Diabetes This may come as little surprise,but eating breakfast also decreases your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes. By howmuch, however, shocked even me.

A recent study was performed at the Harvard School of Public Health on the relationshipbetween eating patterns and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. In 1992, researchers

gathered 29,206 men who were initially free of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease

and cancer. Sixteen years later, they re-tested the men. They discovered that men who

slipped breakfast had a stunning 21% higher risk of developing diabetes than the menwho ate breakfast. You may think, yeah but over 16 years, they probably gained a bunch

of weight, but even when the results were adjusted for change in BMI, subjects still hadincreased risk if they skipped breakfast.

Get Inspired ... and Get on the Breakfast Train Obviously there is no shortage of inspiration here

to get on the breakfast train, but please consider that all breakfasts are not created equal.

A healthy breakfast (and this goes for all ages) should consist of a low-fat protein and a high-

fiber carbohydrate, with as little sugar as possible (so sorry, everyone, Pop-Tarts don't count).

Protein-rich breakfasts help us develop healthy muscle and tissue, but recent studies have shown

even more benefits: Protein in your morning meal improves appetite control by reducing

cravings and preventing overeating later in the day.

Fiber-rich breakfasts help us stay full and promote a healthy metabolism, but could also help you

feel less tired throughout the day, according to a 1999 study. The combination of the two (protein

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and fiber) have more energy throughout the day compared with people who eat a high-fat

breakfast (think fried eggs and bacon).

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As part of the evidence and exhibits presented to the Supreme Court of Ghana, the main witness of the

petitioners, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia also presented to the Supreme Court in hard copy a geographic

representation of the spread of the constitutional, statutory violations and irregularities that he claimed

affected the conduct and outcome of the December 7, 2012 general election.

This map was contained in the powerpoint presentation presented in hardcopy to the judges of the SupremeCourt.

According to the 2012 vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, a glance at the map indicates that

indeed the elections of December 7th were affected hugely by the various irregularities and violations which

occurred in various degrees all over the country. Every single region and every one of the 275 constituencies

was affected by the multiple forms of irregularities.

He said close to 30% of votes he wants to be annulled as a result of over-voting, comes from the Greater Accra

Region. The Volta and Northern regions follow with almost 15% of all votes to be annulled as a result of over-

voting coming from each of the two regions.

The Upper East, Central and Western regions each account for fewer than 10% of the incidents of over-votingwhile the Eastern, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and the Upper West Regions each account for fewer than 5% of the

incidents of over-voting.

On voting without biometric verification, Dr. Bawumia said almost 20% of the votes that would have to be

annulled as a result of this infraction of the law, emanates from the Greater Accra region, whilst the Volta and

Northern regions each account for under 15% of all the votes to be annulled due to voting without biometric

verification.

Just like over-voting, the Upper East, Western and Central regions each account for under 10% of all votes to

be annulled due to this category of irregularity/violation. The remaining four regions namely, Upper West, Brong

Ahafo, Ashanti and Eastern each account for under 5% of the votes the petitioners are seeking to be annulled.

Dr. Bawumia maintained, in all the analysis from the 11,138 polling stations that he is requesting the Supreme

Court to annul, the Greater Accra region was the region most affected by the irregularities, violations and

malpractices during the December 7th elections. As a result, 1,044,532 votes in total would have to be annulled

from the regions total valid votes cast.

Following closely is the Volta region, from which 550,057 votes would have to be annulled from the total valid

votes from the region. The Western and Central regions follow in that order with 500,485 and 499,270 votes to

be annulled respectively.

The Northern, Brong Ahafo and Eastern regions are next in the queue of regions most affected by the

irregularities with 482,288; 399,218 and 301,311 votes needing to be annulled respectively from the three

regions.

The Ashanti, Upper West and Upper East regions in terms of total numbers, were not spared by the

irregularities, though they were the least affected. A total of 266,839 illegal votes are to be annulled in the

Ashanti region, 200,889 illegal votes in Upper West, and 136,526 in Upper East.

The analysis of the petitioners, however, paints a different picture if the votes to be annulled are analyzed with

respect to the total number of eligible voters in the various regions.

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The witness said analysis shows that when compared to the total eligible voters, the Upper West region was

most affected by the irregularities as 55.12% of all potential votes from the region were tainted by the

irregularities. The Volta region, again, placed 2nd with 47.55% of all potential votes from the region tainted and

therefore needing to be annulled. The Central, Northern regions and Greater Accra follow in that order with

40.54%, 38.17% and 37.40% of potential votes from the regions being tainted respectively.

The Western, Brong Ahafo, Upper East, Eastern and Ashanti regions are the regions which, with respect to thetotal voters register, recorded the least percentages of irregularities per the analysis of the petitioners.