Jean Adukwei Mensa
THE US Department of State has rejected claims of voter fraud in Ghana’s 2020 general election, one year after the verdict of the Supreme Court affirming the validity of the declaration by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Adukwei Mensa.
The Department, controlled by the Secretary of State, said the outcome of the polls was a true representation of the will of the people of Ghana.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had accused the EC of manipulating the outcome of the elections by alleging massive voter fraud, but provided no evidence, even at the apex court where its presidential candidate, ex-President John Mahama, petitioned.
Mr. Mahama, after the court dismissed his petition as having “no merit,” because he could not produce any evidence to rebut the publication of C.I. 135 created by the EC, alleged that the EC boss supervised the stealing of one million votes for the ruling NPP in the 2020 general election.
He told the Divisional Chief of Prestea Himan, Nana Nteboah Prah, as part of his ‘Thank You’ tour of the Western Region last year that “more than one million extra ballot papers were printed, which the EC claimed happened by mistake but on the day of the elections, some of the more than one million extra ballot papers had already been secretly thumb-printed in favour of the NPP.”
He added, “And, so, all these things dented the credibility of the polls and caused an embarrassment.”
US Department’s Response
But the US Department of State believes the 2020 NDC flagbearer’s allegations are far-fetched, noting that the presidential and parliamentary election results were credible and reflected “the will of the people.”
The Department, in its 2021 Annual Country Reports released on April 12, 2022, indicated that all observers from both local and international levels “assessed the elections to be transparent, inclusive, and credible.”
The report, however, noted that some observers were concerned about the “misuse of incumbency, the lack of enforcement of regulations on campaign financing, and unequal access to state-owned media during the campaign.”
The report, which also touched on human rights practices, said the authorities, media, and observers reported, at least, two killings by security forces, two deaths from civilian violence and several injuries in the Greater Accra, Bono East, and Northern regions.
BY Ernest Kofi Adu