The Let My Vote Count Alliance, like well-meaning Ghanaians, is deeply frustrated by the apparent dithering being exhibited by the Supreme Court in the handling of the ground-breaking case brought by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, challenging the validity of the 2012 elections results as declared by the Electoral Commission. It has been deeply worrying for many Ghanaians to see the Supreme Court countenance clear delay tactics brought forth by the respondents, particularly the National Democratic Congress, in this case. It is even more worrying because the Court appears to be in no hurry to get this case over and done with. Indeed, we are not asking for speed against the interest of justice. We are only asking for the case to be treated with the urgency and efficiency required and so far we have not been convinced by the attitude and approach of the Court. It is treating this case like business-as-usual and we wish to caution, that is a very dangerous attitude for the court to approach this case with. What is in dispute is the election of the man who will run the day-to-day affairs of Ghana and make decisions which affect the lives of 25 million Ghanaians for the next 4 years. This should have, ordinarily, prompted the Supreme Court to ensure a swift resolution of the case, or at least give signs that it intends to expedite the resolution of this case. But No, it has not been the case. We are in the third month since the Supreme Court of Ghana began sitting on this matter and we do not even have a date for the hearing to begin! However, in the case of Kenya, who had their elections some two weeks ago, the case brought by Raila Odinga, who like Nana Akufo-Addo & Co., is challenging the election results, is on and hearing is scheduled to begin in a week's time and, hopefully, resolved within 3 weeks. It could be said that the Kenyan court is bound by the law which gives it a specific time to resolve an election petition. But, is our court saying that because there is no such express provision in our laws it has the liberty to be leisurely. The attitude of the Kenyan Court has been more responsive to the exceptional public interest element of the petition before it. For instance, the Kenyan court will allow television cameras in the court room to beam sound and images live to the anxious public out there. The court has also published details of the petition of Raila Odinga. The delays, adjournments and deliberate time wasting affecting this election petition is really making a mockery of the justice system in Ghana and has the potential to cause instability in the country. It is as if the Court is waiting to feel the anger of the people at the gates of the Court before it may even consider sitting up to its responsibility of fast-tracking the case. We wish to remind our Supreme Court that Kenyans ignored the court in 2007 and went on a killing spree because in the past election petitions brought before the Supreme Court there were dealt without the needed sense of urgency. For example, in 1992 Kenneth Matiba went to court to dispute Daniel Arap Moi’s victory. The establishment downplayed the dispute and Matiba’s case dragged on and on before time made it redundant and was thrown out on a technicality. In 1997, Mwai Kibaki also disputed Daniel Moi’s re-election and again Kenya moved on as his petition dragged on for two years of Moi's 5-year term, before it was again thrown out on a technicality. In both cases, part of Kenya that supported the disputed president moved on, but the moving on did not mean that people were sacrificing and could be trusted to sacrifice justice forever for the sake of peace. That is why in 2007 when this time, Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner and sworn-in, the aggrieved parties had lost complete faith in the judicial system and were not prepared to even consider it. Raila Odinga disputed Kibaki's victory but chose not to go to court with a petition. He instead called for mass action. Kibaki’s victory was not nullified but the country was not able to move on until a negotiated power settlement was reached. This was not an ideal situation for everybody, and only came up because of the death and destruction. 1,300 people lost their lives and 600,000 others were displaced from their homes and the economic and social costs to Kenya could not be measured. We do not wish for Ghana to go down that path and our Supreme Court has the power and authority to make sure we do not go that way. It must begin to show to the people that it means business and will not play delay tactics with the destiny of this nation. The LMVCA has been to parts of the country and the mood among Ghanaians is one of heightened expectation to seeing this case resolved as early as judiciously possible. Sadly, the Supreme Court seems more concerned about the upcoming Easter Holidays, than the peace of the country and the dispensing of justice which rests on their shoulders now. We believe the Court must have the sense of urgency to be able to give the nation a set date when hearing must begin and the Easter should not be an excuse for fixing this date. Justice and Peace cannot wait for Easter. The Supreme Court should not take the seeming quietude of the people for granted. People are peaceful because they expect justice and justice delayed is justice denied and justice denied is peace and stability threatened, if not sacrificed. This is the arduous task before the 9 men and women who have been entrusted with the destiny of 25 million people and the future of our democracy. They must show to us that they are really up to the task. So far, the jury is still not out on that and the signs are not at all encouraging.