NDC warns against ‘illegal’ re-collation of parliamentary results

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed strong opposition to the re-collation of parliamentary results for four disputed constituencies at the Tesano Police Training School.

The Electoral Commission (EC) on Thursday, 12 December, directed a re-collation of results for the four constituencies—Suhum, Nsawam, Fanteakwa North, and Akwatia—in the Eastern Region, following the parliamentary election held on Saturday, 7 December. These constituencies have been a source of contention between the NDC and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Addressing a news conference on Friday, 13 December, National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, questioned the legality of the re-collation exercise.

He argued that the process violates the established rules governing parliamentary elections, stating:

It is not founded on any laws of our elections. Neither is it based on any consensus that has been reached between the parties and the Electoral Commission. And so we want to inform the nation and to give notice to any officials of the Commission and the police who are involved in the perpetration of that illegality to know that there could be consequences of their actions in future.

Asiedu Nketiah further explained:

The law mandates only the Returning Officer in the constituency to pronounce on the outcomes of the parliamentary elections in those respective constituencies. No other person, not even the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, can pronounce the outcomes of the parliamentary elections in any constituency.

The regional directors of the EC cannot pronounce on the outcome of constituency elections, even though they may be superior officers to the constituency Returning Officers.

This caution follows the EC’s announcement of NPP parliamentary candidates as winners in the Fanteakwa North and Akwatia constituencies.

On Thursday, EC officials declared the NPP’s Ernest Kumi as the MP-elect for the Akwatia constituency, overturning an earlier announcement in favour of the NDC’s candidate, Henry Boakye Yiadom. Kumi secured 19,269 votes, while Yiadom Boakye garnered 17,206 votes.

Similarly, in the Suhum constituency, the NPP’s Frank Asiedu Bekoe was declared the winner with 16,855 votes, defeating the NDC’s Prince Kwadwo Addo Tabiri, who polled 15,259 votes, following the re-collation at the Ghana Police Training School in Tesano.

Meanwhile, the NDC has secured an injunction to block the announcement of results for the Nsawam-Adoagyiri constituency.

Collation of disputed constituency results: We [NDC] do not want to engage in anything that could escalate tensions, so we have proceeded to court - Asiedu Nketia.#ElectionHQ pic.twitter.com/Dfx9lDDB1m

— JoyNews (@JoyNewsOnTV) December 13, 2024

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