Justin Kodua Frimpong
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to rerun elections in 19 polling stations within the Ablekuma North Constituency, threatening legal action if the EC fails to comply with the directive of the High Court.
At a press conference last Thursday, the NPP General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, stated that only three polling stations remain uncollated out of 62, as per the court’s orders. He stressed that the EC had already verified and certified 59 of the 62 results and had previously indicated there was no legal barrier to completing the collation of the final three.
“The EC’s sudden U-turn to rerun 19 polling stations is not only shocking but unlawful,” Mr. Kodua said, adding that the NPP “completely rejects” the Commission’s decision.
He further referenced a June 19 appearance before Parliament by the EC Deputy Commissioner, Dr. Bossman Asare, who confirmed that only three polling station results remained outstanding.
Mr. Kodua questioned the EC’s basis for expanding the number to 19, especially when both NPP and National Democratic Congress (NDC) agents had approved the scanned results used during the collation.
“Even if we were to accept a rerun, it ought to be in the three polling stations outstanding. How did the EC suddenly decide that 19 stations were unverifiable?” he queried.
The NPP General Secretary accused the EC of engaging in double standards and acting contrary to agreements with both political parties to collate the results of the remaining three stations. He cited the example of the Glory Land Hotel polling station (C161205A), which is among the three pending but omitted from the EC’s list of 19 for the proposed rerun.
He emphasised that no provision in Ghana’s Constitution, PNDC Law 284, or Public Elections Regulations (CI 127) gives the EC the authority to rerun elections it has already conducted and collated.
“In fact, we have evidence that some presiding officers from these 19 polling stations were present at the collation centre to verify their results,” he said. “Under the EC’s own rules, unverifiable results cannot be included – yet these were.”
Kodua added that the EC’s claim that results from the 19 polling stations were not verified by presiding officers is “misconceived” and inconsistent with its earlier communications.
He reiterated that NPP’s parliamentary candidate, Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie, won the Ablekuma North seat with 34,613 votes, ahead of the NDC’s 34,199, based on pink sheet evidence.
“No amount of arm-twisting can change this fact,” he stressed, confirming that NPP lawyers had been instructed to challenge the EC’s decision in court.
He urged the EC to respect the High Court’s orders and complete the collation process. “The EC must act within the confines of the law. It is not above the law, nor does it have the discretion to do as it pleases,” Kodua said.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah