The 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections were unquestionably won by the National Democratic Congress (NDC). In addition to the election triumph, the party and the new government are reveling in the enormous goodwill of Ghanaians, who feel freed from the ruthless rule of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Nonetheless, the joyous atmosphere shouldn't silence critics who point out the threat the victorious party almost put Ghana in. We might not be as fortunate in future elections. The fact that the Electoral Commission (EC) is being held accountable rather than the NDC, which planned the chaos we saw at the collation centers, is even more concerning.
With the exception of a few minor incidents that are common in our election, the December 7 vote was quiet. Following the voting, the ballots were sorted and tallied in front of members of the public, journalists, independent election monitors, and representatives of political parties. The polling places announced the results. Representatives of the parties and EC officials signed and recorded them. A lot of them were caught on camera. Collating polling station results at designated constituency centers is the next step in our electoral procedures. Once more, representatives from each political party keep an eye on the collation. Independent election observers and journalists are present to observe the proceedings.


Activities at the collation centers are much less susceptible to manipulation than the voting, sorting, and counting of ballots that occur at the polling stations. Among the election procedures, it is the most straightforward. To add the certified numbers that were noted at the polling places, the EC meets with the parties. Yes, it is just a matter of adding up the votes, and the winner is the party or candidate who receives the most votes in the constituency. Following the addition of the votes received by the contenders in the constituencies, the chair of the EC declares the result of the presidential election.
Polling places are where elections are won or lost, as we have frequently been taught. In this election, the NDC and NPP independently calculated their results using the certified copies provided to them at the voting places. Both parties went to the constituency collation centers knowing their fate based on the results of the polling stations. The argument I have been making up to this point is that there shouldn't be any controversy surrounding the constituency collation center unless those involved are manifestly dishonest or incredibly foolish.
It is expected that all party agents and EC officials working at the constituency collation center will have the same certified results from the polling places throughout the constituency. Therefore, we ought to have overcome all the difficult obstacles before December 7 when we cast our ballots in a nonviolent manner and counted the results at the polling places without any problems. Unfortunately, Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communication Officer for the NDC, convened a press conference following the conclusion of the polling station procedure. In order to safeguard the party's votes, he urged NDC supporters to swarm the constituency collation centers during that press conference. He said that President-elect John Dramani Mahama, the party's nominee, had approved of the call. That was a careless and unnecessary conduct.
Since the NDC already had authorized representatives at the collation centers, what function did the supporters serve? It was clear that their only function was to cause mayhem. In the midst of the turmoil, it was simpler for someone to steal the election, as the NDC claimed, I said on social media. Some electoral officers returning to the constituency collation centers were unable to enter the premises, according to live television video. Party members attempted to push their way into the centers, while the police battled to keep them out of the way. Ballot boxes were thrown over the fence by certain election officials.
In several constituencies, the resulting nationwide disorder became unmanageable.An EC officer was murdered by a stray bullet, and the EC's office was set on fire at Damongo, Savannah Region.We also watched video of an EC officer who, under duress, announced the parliamentary results of an Accra constituency.Members of the NDC, including Ningo Prampram's MP, were gathered around him.He was clearly disturbed, and the NDC members who were seated beside him pushed the figures in his mouth when he missed his words.The court gave the EC permission to recollect the parliamentary outcomes of nine constituencies. Seven constituencies have been re-collected by the Commission thus far, and the governing NPP's candidates have been proclaimed the winners in each of the seven constituencies.
The court's decision and the EC's recollection have been criticized by certain attorneys who are more knowledgeable about our election rules, claiming that they are out of step with custom. I will focus on what caused the pandemonium at the collation centers and let the attorneys handle the legal points. It is appropriate to hold the NDC, not the EC, accountable for the delays and the disruptions at the collation centers. The gathering of party members caused a delay in collation. The outcome of our election would have been different if Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP's vice president and presidential candidate, had not announced his defeat in time to quell the escalating tension and if the party's supporters had rallied equally at the polling stations.
Our country might have exploded in flames if the election's margin of victory had been small. Furthermore, blaming the EC while ignoring the part played by the political parties—particularly the NDC—would be dishonest. The argument that the NDC won because the NPP was unable to cheat is absurd; the NDC effectively compiled its results from the polling places. Ghanaians were upset. Long before the election, a few of us had prophesied that the NPP would lose. In any event, the NDC would not stand by and watch the NPP monopolize election cheating if it were so simple. The NDC is not perfect.
It is true that the EC's credibility has significantly decreased. During Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan's time, right-wing members of the public could readily brush off charges of prejudice against the EC. Due to the conduct of the appointing authority and the body language of certain EC Commissioners, our Electoral Commission has been among the state institutions that has had significant integrity deficiencies in recent years. However, that shouldn't excuse the political parties from their misconduct. Peaceful elections cannot be the sole responsibility of the EC. The public, the courts, security, and political parties all have important responsibilities to play.
The NDC cleared the EC of responsibility for the mayhem at the collation centers by interfering with the collation.If party supporters hadn't crowded the collation centers, what justification would the EC have offered for the delay?If the procedures hadn't been interrupted by boisterous party members, who also destroyed several election-related materials, what justification would the EC have offered for requesting recollection? Even if the NDC claims that the EC committed serious crimes in the contested constituencies, the NDC has provided the Commission with a shield from the blazing glare of responsibility.Knowing that legal challenges can take years to reverse stolen property, political parties will disrupt future collations and force their candidates to be declared winners if we allow what has happened to continue.
Even while our democracy faces difficulties, our elections are more transparent than those in more developed democracies like the US. Here in the United States, I received an election registration form in the mail a few months ago. If I wasn't eligible to register to vote, I was told to throw it away. In Ghana, party agents oversee the voter registration process. Party officials keep an eye on how ballots are printed. The ballot distribution process involves the parties. They are provided with the voter registration list, and on election day, they are aware of the total number of voters registered at each polling place.
Each polling station's voter turnout can be counted by them, and the results can be compared to those recorded by the EC's biometric verification devices. Additionally, the political parties oversee the ballot sorting and counting process. At the national, regional, and constituency levels, they are represented. Therefore, it is easier to cheat in US elections than in Ghanaian elections. We frequently assert that the use of opaque vote boxes in our election has given way to transparent ones. However, as long as the citizens are open and honest, an opaque ballot won't be an issue. Voters in the US frequently use the post office, which is not a transparent voting box.
The epidemic prevented 43% of American voters from casting ballots in the 2020 election. They cast their ballots by mail. This indicates that more than 65 million people have faith in more than just the electoral officials. They had faith in the mail service. They had faith in their fellow citizens to act morally. We cannot fathom the possibility in Ghana. If we attempted that here, mailed ballots from Ashanti, the Volta, and political party strongholds would vanish. And not just the Electoral Commission, but all of us are indicted by this.
I served as an election official in the Krachi West Constituency during the 2004 election. Similar to me, over 95% of those serving as officers on election day are not EC workers. They apply to fill positions as students, teachers, attorneys, nurses, civil society activists, and regular citizens. On Election Day, the EC personnel performs monitoring and administrative tasks, which can be challenging. Therefore, the Techiman South official who distributed presidential ballots and removed the first contender from the ballot might not have been an EC employee. He is a symbol of a culture that lacks integrity. He stands for both of us.
Don't make a mistake. I'm not here to clear the EC of any potential misconduct. I have some knowledge of our electoral process because I have worked as an election officer and covered three elections as a journalist. I am convinced that the EC is not the only perpetrator responsible for a faulty election. Furthermore, the NDC should not be excluded from any truthful discussion of the 2024 election situation because they encouraged their members to crowd the constituency collation centers.

Source: 3News