The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to allow peace to prevail and the law to rule in resolving inconclusive parliamentary elections in some constituencies across the country.
The NPP Director of Research and Elections, Evans Nimako made the call in an interview with the Daily Graphic last Friday amidst disputes over parliamentary election results in some constituencies in the Ashanti, Bono East, Greater Accra and Eastern regions.
Constituencies in dispute
Mr Nimako stated that parliamentary election results in some constituencies, including Ahafo Ano North, Ahafo Ano South West, Obuasi East in Ashanti Region and Techiman South in the Bono East regions were inconclusive due to the lack of proper declaration of results by the returning officers.
He also cited instances in Dome-Kwabenya, Okaikoi Central, Ablekuma North and Tema Central constituencies in the Greater Accra Region, as well as Akwatia, Fanteakwa North, Nsawam-Adoagyiri and Suhum in the Eastern Region.
Mr Nimako explained that because the collation of results in the parliamentary elections in these constituencies was inconclusive, the Electoral Commission (EC) directed that under a serene environment, the parties should go through the process to conclude the exercise.
The NPP director of research and elections cited Constitutional Instrument (C.I) 127 Regulation 43 on the processes of collating and declaring results to buttress his point.
Mr Nimako explained that parliamentary elections terminate at the constituency coalition centre, where the returning officer was the designated official of the EC to declare the results.
He added that in the event the coalition officer was indisposed or something happened, then a deputy return officer was mandated to perform the function that would have been performed by the returning officer.
De-escalation
Mr Nimako said under the de-escalation programme, the National Election Security Task Force, at a meeting with the political parties and the EC, decided that the re-collation of results must be conducted in a serene environment, with the involvement of all parties to know exactly who won the elections in which constituency.
It was based on that programme that the re-collation centre at the Tesano Police Training School in Accra was set up.
Mr Nimako emphasised that the NPP was committed to the peaceful resolution of the disputes and cited the concession of the NPP Presidential Candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and his congratulatory message to President-elect John Dramani Mahama as examples of the party’s commitment to democracy.
“We think that these constituencies must have the conclusion to the collated results and the NDC must allow peace to prevail and by extension, the law must be allowed to rule,” Mr Nimako said.
NDC
The NDC at a news conference addressed by the party’s National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia on Friday, December 13, 2024, also questioned the legality of the re-collation.
He described the process as illegal and inconsistent with Ghana’s electoral laws.
“We in the NDC believe what is happening at the police training school amounts to illegality. It is not founded on any electoral law nor is it based on any consensus reached by the parties and the Electoral Commission,” he stated.
EC
Meanwhile, the EC has put on hold the re-collation of parliamentary election results at the Tesano Police Depot in Accra until further notice.
This was contained in a statement signed and issued by the EC Deputy Chairman in Charge of Operations, Samuel Tettey, last Friday, December 13, 2024.
