Akufo-Addo in clear lead; NPP replies NDC's flip constituencies

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) says it is obvious that it will continue to maintain the majority in the next Parliament from results it claims to have collated as of 2:15am on Tuesday [December 8, 2020].

"We now control three of the five regions in northern Ghana", the NPP's General Secretary, John Boadu announced at a press conference organised by the party at 3am on Tuesday, December 8, 2020.

The press conference was in reaction to an earlier one organised by the NDC at 2:40am.

Read also: NDC says party flips 36 seats. See list

The NPP General Secretary said for the first time, the NPP has been able to win a seat in the Volta Region, and referred to Hohoe, which he said had been won by the Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu.

He said from results the party has collated as of 2:15am [ from pink sheets, scanned and sent to its national headquarters in Accra, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was in a clear lead."

"We will refrain from declaring results, we will leave that to the EC," Mr Boadu said.

"However, from the results publicly declared, collated and announced at the constituency level, and also from our own internal collation system, the efficacy of which is not in doubt, we are happy to announce that we have so far collated and vetted, as at 2:15am, we have received in our situation room here in Accra, the scanned pink sheet results from 34,040 polling stations nationwide out of the total of 38,933 including special voting ones."

"This represents 87.43 percent of all polling stations with 4,893 outstanding." Mr Boadu said.

He insisted that puts the NPP's candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the lead with 6,085,708 representing 52.72 percent.

He said this was the highest number of votes to be secured by any presidential candidate in the fourth Republic.

John Mahama is second with total votes of 5,308,033 representing 45.93 percent.

He said each one of the pink sheets used for the collation at the NPP's collation centre has been scanned and are available for inspection as was done in the 2016 elections.

"We will take some of the media people to our collation centre and situation room for you to have a look at each and every pink sheet that has been scanned and received," Mr Boadu added.

He said with just 4,893 polling station results still left to go with Akufo-Addo leading John Mahama by 777, 675 votes, "it will take much more than the usual propaganda to flick this."

"Whereas we do not wish to declare that we have won the presidential race, we can confidently say that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has secured a clear incontestable margin ahead of John Mahama. We will however, as responsible citizens wait for the EC to declare the final results," Mr Boadu added.

"As we come to the end of this election period, we call on all well meaning Ghanaians to exercise patience as we wait for the declaration of the final results from the Electoral Commission. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo from our projections, collations, we are on course for a second term in office and a majority in Parliament. We are confident of this and awaits declaration from the EC as constitutionally mandated," he added

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Seats won

Mr Boadu debunked the claim by the NDC that it had won the Abura Asebu Kwamankese (AAK) constituency in the Central Region and insisted the NPP candidate Elvis Donkor had retained his seat.

He said the NDC from the 2:40am press conference it organised and claimed to have won some seats from the NPP and consequently called on party supporters to mass up at collation centres, "was obvious that they have not learned from the 2016 mistakes and incompetence. It is obvious that they have no proper system of collation and rely on fake results and hearsay."

"The NDC was so unprepared that in the middle of the press conference, the speaker, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah had to rely on Sammy Gyamfi's whispers, his usual misinformation into Mr Afriyie's ear, the NDC needs to take Ghanaians serious and check their facts before addressing the nation. This is a serious matter about election results, creating insinuations which create a lack of credibility on our whole election process."

He said the NPP's 2016 win of majority of 169 seats was historic and the first of its kind since the 4th Republic dispensation and "we are happy to announce that for the next Parliament, it is obvious from the results declared across the constituencies, the NPP will still maintain a majority in Parliament."

He said the NPP won 63 seats above what the NDC had in 2016 and as such, "it is surprising that the NDC is insisting of a flip of seats. They do not mention the many seats they have flopped."

"In the Savannah Region where the NDC presidential candidate John Mahama hails from, they flopped and we flipped four seats - Damango, Daboya and Salaga North in the Savannah Region. 

He said the NPP is now the majority party in John Mahama's own region, controlling four seats out of seven seats.

The NDC also flopped in Lambussie, a seat he said the NPP has won in the Upper West Region.

He added that in the North East Region, the NDC has also flopped, losing Yagba Kobore to Mustapha Ussif [Executive Secretary of National Service Scheme].

In Yonyoo, he added the NDC also lost the seat to Oscar Lawal of the NPP as well as in Chereponi where the NDC lost to Abdul Razak of the NPP.

"In the Northern Region, the NDC has flopped  to the extent that the NPP now has majority in the Northern Region by winning Karaga, Tatale, Zabzugu and Mion.

He said the NPP now controls three regions out of the five northern regions in Ghana.

He added the NPP has won the Upper West Akim in the Eastern Region for the first time and said the "icing of the cake is the historic NDC flop in the Volta Region" as John Peter Amewu won the first seat in the region for the NPP in Hohoe.

Writer's email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh 

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