The National Peace Council (NPC) on Tuesday expressed concern over the declaration of the results of the December 7 polls by both the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The Reverend Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, NPC Chairman, said the Council had noted with grave concern the press conferences organized by the two main political parties to declare their results of the just-ended elections.

"We would like to reiterate that the Electoral Commission (EC) is the only constitutionally mandated institution to declare the results of the presidential elections," Rev Dr Adu-Gyamfi stated at a press conference organized by the NPC and the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) in Accra.

"We, therefore, call on all actors involved to respect and adhere to the laws of the country and exercise patience as the EC undertake its mandate," he said.

He expressed gratitude to Ghanaians for their patriotism on Election Day and their patience in the post-voting activities.

He called on the National Election Security Taskforce to take control of the situation and respond appropriately.

"We continue to encourage all media houses to be circumspect in their reportage of the ongoing counting and coalition processes and appeal to Ghanaians and as we wait for the EC's declaration of the official results," Rev Dr Adu-Gyamfi said.

"We entreat the international observer missions in the country to continue their preventive diplomatic engagement with the stakeholders to neutralize the tension."

The press conference was to formally bring to a closure the WANEP/NPC's Electoral violence Monitoring, Analysis and Mitigation (EMAM) Election Situation Room (ESR).