Dr. Samuel Sarpong Ankrah, leader of the Alternative Force for Action (AFA), has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of manipulating the selection process for presidential candidates ahead of the December 7th, 2024, general elections.

According to Dr. Ankrah, the EC disqualified him using vague criteria that were never communicated until the final press briefing by the EC Chair. “Not at any time did anyone from the EC make mention of using people in one district to support the other,” he expressed, describing the rationale as “totally new and never discussed.”

In his view, if the EC had informed him of the supposed issues in accordance with the law, he would have resolved them promptly.

“I just ask the EC to bring any communication or correspondence they sent to us that stated the reason they used in disqualifying us to work on. As we are speaking now, there is no other official communication. We’ve written to them politely and humbly requesting to see exactly the infractions. As of today, there hasn’t been any response,” Dr. Ankrah said, highlighting what he believes is a lack of transparency that threatens the fairness of the electoral process.

Dr. Ankrah further claimed that his rising influence among the middle class, students, and educated citizens triggered fears within certain political circles, leading to his exclusion.

“From the information gathered, it was supposed to be the constituency of one political party. And if we allow this guy to build momentum and gather these people, he is going to hurt a candidate. The impact that Sam Ankrah was bringing to this election was quite huge, and certain people feel threatened,” he stated, emphasizing the need to guard the EC from being manipulated by external forces.

The EC’s decision, which disqualified 11 candidates out of 24, has left many, including Dr. Ankrah, shocked and questioning the integrity of the process. Other notable exclusions include Janet Nabla of the People’s National Party (PNP), Bernard Mornah of the People’s National Convention (PNC), and Paul Perkoh.

While the EC has assured that the nomination fees of those affected will be refunded, several disqualified candidates, including Ms. Nabla, have commenced legal action to contest what they perceive as an unlawful and politically motivated move by the EC.