Collation Of Results – Threat To Peace

 

The NPP presidential candidate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia conceded defeat to ex-President Mahama, 16 hours after the ballot was closed in the 2024 general election. The significant point is that the decision was not based on the results declared by the Electoral Commission (EC) but the internally generated results compiled by the NPP. Significant to note was also the Press briefing by the NDC’s Communication Director Sammy Gyamfi on 8th December 2024, which gave sufficient proof that the NDC had also compiled their own results unlike the previous elections.

The question then is, if the two main political parties could collate their results in less than 24hrs after the close of the ballot, why can’t the EC who is better resourced do it better? This clearly confirms that there is something basically wrong with the EC’s system of collation. The EC in ensuring accuracy has created unnecessary delays in releasing results and has thus created tension making the process of collation more cumbersome.

The EC has always been appealing to Ghanaians to exercise patience whilst the collation is on-going, and for how long will this appeal continue? It happened in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024. We always assume that Ghanaians are peaceful, but it is not true if the recent violence that followed declaration of results are anything to go by. The NDC had planned to turn this country into a war zone, but the calculated step taken by Dr Bawumia to concede defeat early, helped prevent a catastrophe that would have befallen this nation.

Elections are won or lost at the polling station. This in effect means that once the polling station results have been declared, a party has either won or lost the election. Collation is therefore cosmetic and involves simple addition of results of all polling stations for each constituency. This is the job the EC (seemingly) has proved incapable of managing peacefully. Yes, care must be taken to ensure that mistakes are avoided, but this must be weighed against the possibility of an outbreak of violence when unnecessarily delayed. The decision to pull all polling agents together at an agreed location (Collation Centre) is a recipe for disaster when tensions are high and must be reviewed.

In addition to collating the results of polling stations, the centres also serve as the second line of appeal in disagreed polling station results and this is the centre where the ballot is counted the third time. Consequently, the centres have become “hot spots” created by the EC and always choked with people who have no business being there. The control of the crowd at these centres (276 constituencies/centres) has been a major problem for the security services especially those in remote areas. The collation of results is key to the electoral process, and it is very necessary that the current practice be reviewed to remove the stress that has been placed on it.

I call for the abolition of collation centres. My reason is that after the counting of the ballot at the polling stations, all other regulations have been satisfied, the results sheets or “pink sheets” or certificates are signed by all agents. After the agents of candidates have appended their signatures against the results of their candidates, the presiding officers of the EC retains the original certificate, and the duplicate copies are given to the agents. The EC’s copy serves as a benchmark for certification of all duplicate copies. The need to involve party agents in the collation process becomes unnecessary because that is the responsibility of the EC and staff.

To assemble at a collation centre to total results which have been issued by the EC to all parties is sheer waste of time. If this collation issue is not handled properly, it could one day turn the whole country upside down. The EC has the mandate to collate all results and that to my mind is what the EC must do. Sadly, the EC in exercising its authority on the collation, has surrendered it on the cover of transparency by involving agents and this has compounded the problem of collation. My point is that you don’t need agents when you are collating results because they all have copies of the results.

My suggestion is that after the results certificates (normally referred to as “pink sheet”) have been signed by all agents, before copies are issued to agents, the original copy must be scanned and immediately sent to the EC’s operations room in Accra. After this action, copies must be given to the agents by presiding officers., The Returning Officers should then retire to an office or an agreed area where presiding officers will assemble with the original copies of the “pink sheets” for the collation of the results. I maintain that collation of the results is the sole responsibility of the EC and should be treated as such and no agents should be involved.

When the collation is completed, copies of the collated results must be released to parties and candidates who should be given 24hrs to cross-check the results with their “pink sheets” before the results are declared. Where there are discrepancies, the complaints should be referred to an arbitration committee with evidence supported by – “pink sheets”. Since the original copies of the pink sheets are held by the EC, it should not be difficult for the Arbitration Committees to do their job. The rules and regulations should be amended to abolish collation centres and establish an Arbitration committee by the EC if the suggestion is accepted. It is my belief that this suggestion will eliminate violence at collation centres and diffuse the tension normally created at the Centres. The third counting of the ballot at the collation centre should also be abolished and the counting should take place at the polling station and no other place because “elections are won or lost at the polling station”. It is again emphasized that collation of results is the sole responsibility of the EC and must be treated as such and should never be surrendered to the “whims and caprices” of political agents.

Ghana’s democratic journey which has always been praised by many countries in the world is always threatened internally by intimidation, violence and arbitrariness by certain individuals who think they know better than the EC. Sadly, in the recent elections, it has been the NDC who wants to usurp the powers of the EC and win all the seats whether foul or clean. The reports that emanated from the collation centres of the following nine constituencies (Ahafo Ano North, Techiman South, Ahafo Ano South West, Nsawam Adoagyiri, Obuasi East, Okaikwei Central, Tema Central, Dome-Kwabenya and Ablekuma North) indicated complete anarchy which compelled the EC to suspend the collation. In some constituencies, the lives of returning officers were threatened to declare results whilst in other constituencies, results were declared under duress. Results declared under duress are null and void in law and everyone involved in the elections knows it very well. Such an action undermines democracy and mocks the peace we claim to have and all those involved must bow down their heads in shame.

Sadly, the incoming president criticising the EC for annulling some results which were declared under duress gave an indication that whatever the EC does will not be accepted. What a shame. If the presidential results had been declared under duress, this country would have been under siege. The independence of the EC is the foundation of our democracy and must be maintained but the NDC wants to take the law into their own hands. The NDC was happy when the same EC declared their presidential candidate the winner of the presidential elections and yet they question the same EC over cancellation of other results under duress.

Collation results are necessary and part of the electoral process to declare winners, but such centres require the presence of presiding and returning officers in whose possession are the original “pink sheets”. The presence of political parties is unnecessary because it is the responsibility of the EC to collate the results. All political parties also have duplicate copies of the “pink sheets” and therefore whilst the EC is collating the results, political parties must do the same. When the EC completes its collation a copy each is given to political parties to confirm or otherwise. Challenging the collated results of the EC, must always be supported by “pink sheets” issued to political parties. Once political parties are eliminated from the collation centres there will be peace.

Ghana has so far managed violence after elections but from recent experience, a lot more effort is needed to ensure that issues that contribute to violence are eliminated from the electoral process for peace to prevail.

By: Brig-Gen (Rtd) J. Odei

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