Jean Mensa
A contentious parliamentary election in the Dome Kwabenya constituency has taken a dramatic turn, with the Electoral Commission (EC) announcing a re-run of the poll at one polling station.
This decision follows a dispute over the declaration of results from the Abokobi Women’s Development Training Centre, where the results were filled on a training declaration form instead of the original one.
The controversy began when polls closed on December 7, 2024, and the collation of parliamentary results was disrupted.
With 367 polling stations in the constituency, the EC met to resolve the issues, only to discover that three declaration forms containing results from three polling stations were missing.
When the results were finally provided, one of them was detected to have been declared on the wrong pink sheet.
According to the EC, the results from the two polling stations showed a difference of 165 votes, with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate, Elikplim Akurugu, leading the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Mike Oquaye Jnr.
The Abokobi Women’s Development Training Centre, where the results were rejected, has a total voter population of about 665.
The EC’s decision to re-run the election at this particular polling station has been met with opposition from the NDC, which claims their candidate has won and that the EC’s calculation was wrong.
Rashid Tanko-Computer, Deputy Director of Elections and IT at the NDC argued that their calculation shows their candidate has won by a clear margin, and they will redo the calculation to prove it to the EC.
The EC’s Director of Training, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, explained that the commission will meet to determine when to re-run the election at the polling station.
Background of the Dispute
The Dome Kwabenya constituency has been a contentious area in Ghana’s parliamentary elections.
With 367 polling stations, the constituency is one of the largest in the country.
The dispute over the declaration of results from the Abokobi Women’s Development Training Centre has raised concerns about the credibility of the electoral process.
Implications of the Re-Run
The re-run of the parliamentary election at the Abokobi Women’s Development Training Centre has significant implications for the outcome of the election.
With a difference of 165 votes between the two leading candidates, the re-run could potentially change the results of the election.