EC defends recount of voter results

Dr. Bossman Asare

The Electoral Commission (EC) has defended its decision to tally results in some constituencies in the Eastern region, citing irregularities and intimidation by supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to EC Deputy Chairman Dr. Bossman Asare, the move was necessary to correct irregularities that violated the procedures set out in Constitutional Instrument (CI) 127.

The development followed allegations that NDC supporters were forcing EC officials to announce their preferred winners in some constituencies.

The Secretary General of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Frimpong Kodua, had earlier condemned the action, accusing the NDC of orchestrating violence and disruption at assembly centres, physically assaulting EC officials and forcefully declaring results in their favour.

Dr. Asare explained that Regulation 43 CI 127 provides clear guidelines on the tabulation process during parliamentary elections.

However, in some constituencies these procedures were not followed, which required the intervention of the Commission.

He cited specific cases of violations in Central Okayaway and Tema where declarations were made using incomplete results or by persons not accredited by the Commission.

The EC’s decision to move the collation of results for the four constituencies in the Eastern Region to the Tesano Police Training School in Accra was taken after consultation with the Ghana Police Service to ensure a safe environment for the process.

Dr. Asare emphasized that the EC’s focus remains on ensuring confidence in the electoral process, and not on influencing the outcome.

The NPP had earlier accused the NDC of deliberately delaying the tabulation of results in the Eastern region and called on the EC to reverse what they called “illegal declarations” of parliamentary results under duress.

The decision of the EC to collate the results is seen as an attempt to solve these problems and ensure the integrity of the electoral process.

Daniel Bumpo