EC Dismisses 4 PC Declarations

Jean Mensa

 

The Electoral Commission (EC) has declared the parliamentary results for Dome-Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North and Tema Central constituencies illegal, stating that they cannot be upheld.

Deputy Chairperson of the EC in charge of Operations, Mr. Samuel Tettey, made this announcement last Friday at the Commission’s headquarters in Accra.

He explained that the results were deemed invalid due to interference by party supporters, who disrupted proceedings at collation centres and coerced EC staff into declaring results for their preferred candidates.

Mr. Tettey also noted progress in other areas, revealing that three of the 12 constituencies requiring re-collation of parliamentary results—Suhum, Akwatia, and Fanteakwa North—have successfully completed the process.

However, he said re-collation was still pending in Ahafo Ano South West, Ahafo Ano North, Obuasi East, and Techiman South.

“It is important to note that the re-collation in the following constituencies, namely Dome-Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, and Tema Central, did not follow the laid-down processes as enshrined in CI 127, despite police presence at the collation centres to enable the Commission’s staff to undertake the re-collation,” he stated.

According to Mr. Tettey, in all four instances, CI 127 was not adhered to, and EC officers were threatened and forced to declare winners without following the required electoral procedures.

“It is, therefore, the conclusion of the Commission that the collation and declarations which did not follow laid-down procedures are illegal and cannot be upheld by the Commission, since the processes for collation and declaration as set out in CI 127 were violated and not followed,” he added.

In Dome-Kwabenya, Elikplim Akurugu, who contested on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), was declared the winner.

However, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Mike Oquaye Jnr, rejected the results, citing mob disruption of the collation process and called for a re-collation.

In Okaikwei Central, NDC’s Baba Sadiq was declared the winner, defeating incumbent NPP Member of Parliament, Patrick Boamah.

However, the EC relocated the collation process to the regional collation centre due to violence and a series of misunderstandings at the constituency collation centre.

The results for the NDC’s parliamentary candidate for Tema Central have also been contested, following allegations of an illegal declaration by EC officers in favour of the NDC candidate.

Similar violations were reported in Ablekuma North, where the NDC’s Ewurabena Aubynn was declared the winner, defeating incumbent Akua Afriyie of the NPP amidst alleged attacks on EC officers.

The EC has reiterated its commitment to ensuring compliance with electoral regulations and maintaining the integrity of the process, as outlined in CI 127.

 

BY Ebenezer K. Amponsah

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