Politics of Thursday, 19 December 2024

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

2024 Elections: Why declarations for Tema Central, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North cannot stand - Jean Mensa

Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Jean Mensa play videoChairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Jean Mensa

The chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), Jean Mensa, has justified the decision of the commission to nullify the declaration of parliamentary election results for three constituencies in the Greater Accra Region.

Speaking at a press briefing at the EC headquarters in Accra, Jean Mensa said that returning officers who declared the results for these three constituencies - Tema Central, Okaikwei Central, and Ablekuma North - were forced to do so without following the required processes.

She added that in all of these three constituencies, the winners were declared without the results from a significant number of polling stations.

In the Okaikwei Central Constituency, for instance, the EC boss pointed out that the winner was declared without the results of 31 polling stations and in the Ablekuma North Constituency without the results of 62 polling stations.

“In Okaikwei Central, I did mention that 110 polling station results were used to declare a winner instead of 141. The commission would not uphold that process.

“In the Ablekuma North constituency, 219 polling station results were used to declare a winner instead of 281 polling station results. The commission would not uphold that declaration. In Tema Central, the DO again was threatened and he was forced to declare results using 146 polling stations instead of 148. The commission would not uphold that declaration,” Jean Mensa said.

She indicated that for the other remaining six constituencies, including Ahafo Ano South-West, Ahafo Ano North, and Nsawam Adoagyiri, supporters of the political parties besieged the collation centres which disrupted the process.

She said that for these constituencies, no winner was declared and measures are being put in place to complete the process.

In all three constituencies in the Greater Accra Region, parliamentary candidates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) were declared winners.

In Okaikwei Central, NDC’s Baba Sadiq was declared the winner, beating the incumbent New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament, Dr Patrick Boamah; in Ablekuma North, NDC’s Ewurabena Aubynn beat NPP’s Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh; and in Tema Central, NDC’s Ebi Bright was declared the winner.

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