An important development is that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has withdrawn from the ongoing collation process for the Ablekuma North constituency, citing irregularities committed by the Electoral Commission (EC), while the collation was still taking place at the EC's Greater Accra Regional Collation Centre. Ablekuma North is one of four constituencies, along with Tema Central, Okaikwei Central, and Techiman South, where the High Court had ordered the EC to finish collating the results of the remaining polling station results by January 6, 2025.

Tema Central, Okaikwei Central, and Techiman South are the three constituencies out of these four where the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has already been proclaimed the winner. As of this now, Ablekuma North is the only constituency with unfinished results.


Following instructions from Dr. Rashid Tanko, the party's Deputy Director of Elections and IT, to withdraw from the collation process, the NDC referred to the EC's conduct as "an illegality." According to Dr. Tanko, the collation was stopped because the NDC was able to obtain a stay of execution from the Appeals Court. But he said the EC was disregarding the court's ruling.


Additional information was given by Musa Kalam, the organizer of the NDC's Ablekuma North Constituency, who stated that the NPP had sent in 62 scanned pink papers for validation. 41 of them were approved by the EC, but 21 were turned down because of doubts about their veracity. Kalam claimed that the use of scanned pink sheets in the collation process compromises the election's integrity, calling it a first for Ghana's electoral history.


In several constituencies, the collation procedure is the subject of a larger issue, which includes the disagreement over the Ablekuma North results. NPP candidates submitted mandamus applications, claiming that the EC had not fulfilled its responsibilities in certain constituencies, which led to the High Court's order. Because the NDC withdrew from the Ablekuma North collation, there are questions regarding the ultimate result there, even though the NPP has previously been proclaimed the winner in three of these constituencies through comparable procedures.


The EC has yet to release an official statement addressing the NDC's withdrawal or the current status of the collation process. The ongoing situation highlights tensions within Ghana’s electoral system, underscoring the need for clearer and more transparent election procedures. As Dr. Tanko stated, “Once a national officer has given a clear direction of the decision of the party, we are abandoning the process, but we must first inform the media about what transpired.”

Source: citinewsroom.com