Former President John Kufuor
Former President John Kufuor has urged calm as tensions build over the delay in the release of election results more than 20 hours after Wednesday’s general elections.
The Electoral Commission (EC) says it is unable to declare results for the keenly contested presidential and parliamentary elections because of complaints of over-voting at some unnamed constituency collation centres.
“As at now, we have received 25 Constituency Collated results at the National Collation Centre. However, the two major parties (NDC and NPP) represented here at the NCC have declined to sign on the collated results until they have seen the pink sheets and confirmed the accuracy of the results collated. As a result, the Commission has not been able to certify any of the 25 constituency results.
“The Commission appreciates that the results have been delayed considerably. We would like to emphasise that the Commission is not deliberately delaying the release of results. The delay is the result of our commitment to only releasing accurate and valid results to the people of Ghana,” the Charlotte Osei-chaired EC said in a statement.
Speaking to Journalists at his residence Thursday, the former President said he trusts the EC to be fair in managing the entire election process.
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), which Mr Kufuor is a leading figure of, has been claiming victory in Wednesday’s general elections, but the incumbent National Democratic Congress is claiming same.
The tension between the two main political parties is heightening over the results of the general elections as the EC fails to declare results more than 20 hours after the close of polls at the last polling station.
Commenting briefly on the standoff, former President Kufuor said he trusts presidential candidates to stick to the Accra Peace Accord signed by all seven aspirants to promote peace before, during and after the general elections.
-Myjoyonline