Disputed Parliamentary Seats: You cannot change the rules when it suits you - Mahama tells EC
Ghana's President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to maintain the highest standards of fairness, consistency, and integrity in its handling of disputed parliamentary results.
Mahama's call comes amid controversy over the EC's decision to invalidate the results in nine constituencies, citing irregularities and declarations made under duress. The affected constituencies include Ablekuma North, Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Techiman South among others.
The President-elect expressed concerns over the EC's selective application of rules, pointing to inconsistencies in the handling of similar cases in the past.
In his address to African ambassadors and high commissioners on Friday, December 20, Mahama emphasized the need for transparency and fairness in the EC's operations, stressing that the commission's actions must inspire confidence among citizens and the international community.
“The few outstanding issues arising from the elections where nine constituencies are in dispute and we think that the EC should act in a principled manner.
“You cannot change the rules when it suits you and apply different rules when different circumstances exist. There was a particular case in 2020 and the EC came out clearly that if a declaration had been made, it was not the duty of the commission to adjudicate it and the court was the right place to go.
“So, if a declaration has been made, it doesn’t matter under what circumstance; they are saying some are under duress. In the case of Techiman South, it was under duress with soldiers in the collation room. There was chaos in the collation when the declaration was made.
“The same arguments were passed that there should be a re-collation, and the EC said no… In the same circumstances, declarations have been made. If the people have any grievances, they must go to court and address those grievances there.
“We don’t think the goalpost should be shifted depending on who is at the other end of the stick. We think that there must be fairness and justice in everything we do.”
Source: Lead News Online
