EC Nullifies Parliamentary Results in Dome Kwabenya, Three others, declares them Illegal
Ghana's Electoral Commission has taken the extraordinary step of annulling the parliamentary results in four constituencies, citing widespread irregularities and violence during the collation of results.
The affected constituencies are Dome Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, and Tema Central. According to the Electoral Commission, the re-collation process in these areas was compromised by party supporters who stormed the collation centers, forcing staff to declare results in favor of their preferred candidates.
The Commission's Deputy Chair for Operations, Samuel Tettey in a press confeence on Dec 13, , explained that the re-collation process was marred by violence and intimidation, rendering the results invalid.
“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 laid down processes as enshrined in CI 127 despite police presence at the collation centres to enable the commission staff to undertake the re-collation.
“The centres were again besieged by party supporters who took over the process and forced out staff to declare results of their preferred candidates,” Tettey stated.
“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 the case of Dome Kwabenya, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Elikplim Akurugu, was initially declared the winner, but the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Mike Oquaye Jr., rejected the results, citing mob action and disruption of the electoral process.
The Electoral Commission's decision to annul the results in these four constituencies has significant implications for the outcome of the parliamentary elections. The Commission assured the public that it will take all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
Source: Lead News Online
