The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa has mounted a strong defence of the Commission’s decision to declare the results of the 2020 election in 24hours.

She holds the view that this will help defuse the tension that usually characterizes elections in Ghana.

The largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has raised issues with what it says is the EC’s rush to declare the results, warning that any such hasty move will produce unrealistic results.

But speaking to the media on the Commission’s preparedness for tomorrow’s special voting exercise, Jean Mensa stated that officials have been trained and equipped with the necessary logistics to ensure the results are declared within 24 hours after voting.

“Ordinarily, the intention of declaring results is to minimize tension. After all, if you have the results why sit on it, why wait on the results when you have the results. We all know that our media houses have in the past been able to present the results in some ten hours of the poll and so if you’ve put in place systems to ensure that you receive the results on time why the panic."

She added: “I think the panic should rather be when the EC says it will declare the elections after one week, then you should panic. But if you’re bringing in efficiency and allaying the fears and suspicions of persons I think we should be commended and encouraged rather we should all work together in order to achieve this.”