Provide protection to complete Ablekuma North collation - EC appeals to Parliament

The Electoral Commission (EC) has asked the Ghana Police Service to provide the requisite protection to enable it to complete the collation of the Ablekuma North parliamentary poll.

The commission said it was anxious about completing the Ablekuma North parliamentary election result but the lack of security to ensure a safe environment for the collation process remained a major hurdle.

“The collation process in Ablekuma North has been very transparent, participatory and accountable and as a commission, we are desirous of ensuring that the people of Ablekuma North have a representation in Parliament,” a Deputy Chairperson of the EC, Dr Eric Bossman Asare, told Parliament yesterday.

No re-run

Briefing Parliament on the steps the EC has been taking to complete the collation and declare the result for the Ablekuma North constituency parliamentary poll, Dr Asare, however, declined the request from the Majority Caucus for the commission to re-run the Ablekuma North parliamentary election.

He argued that it was only the results from three polling stations in the constituency that remained to be collated out of the 281 polling stations.

“So, for Ablekuma North, we have not reached the point where we will say we do not have the results. When we try and we cannot get the results, that is when we will resort to the rerun, which will be a last option,” he said.

He was responding to a question by the Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, who asked what was preventing the commission from declaring the result of the Ablekuma North constituency parliamentary election since December 7, 2024.

Briefing the House on steps the EC had made so far since December 7 polls, Dr Asare said the commission had not been resting on its oars but was continuing to engage with security agencies to ensure “we have the protection to complete the collation.”

He told the House that an Accra High Court, on January 4, 2025, ruled that the EC should complete the collation of the results for Tema Central, Ablekuma North, Okaikwei Central and Techiman South constituencies.

Following that ruling, he said, the EC had completed all the constituencies, except Ablekuma North.

“These are the efforts the commission has made so far to ensure the completion of the Ablekuma North result since the December 7 elections,” he said.

On the December 9, 2024, Dr Asare said 15 polling station results were added to the already collated results.

All the pink sheets of the 54 polling stations were received from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), bringing to 219 collated polling station results.

On December 21, 2024, he said, 25 polling station results were also added to the collation process, results that were received from the NPP.

“It is important to emphasise that the said 25 pink sheets were not scanned pink sheets but rather carbon copies from the NPP,” he said.

The Deputy Chairperson indicated that even though the NDC collation agents reported late after 10 of the carbon copies had been authenticated by the Returning Officer, they were also allowed to go through those carbon copies of the results.

“Consequently, the remaining 15 copies of the carbon results were authenticated by both the NDC and the NPP agents that day.

“This brought to 244 collated polling station results and 37 polling station results became outstanding,” he said.

Dr Asare also said on the January 5, 2025, 17 polling station scanned copy results received from the NPP, were added to the collation and they were confirmed by the NDC agents.

“This brought to 261 collated polling station results and it should be noted that the decision to accept the scanned pink sheets from the parties was unanimously agreed upon by the commission and the political parties.

“This decision was reached as a result of both parties admitting that they no longer have carbon copies of the results in their custody,” he said.

Verification of results

Dr Asare added that on January 5, 2025, 13 polling station results, which were received from the NPP, were added to the collation results and confirmed by the respective Presiding Officers (POs) of the 13 polling stations.

All the officers, he said, were brought in to verify their signatures and the results of the scanned copies, bringing the results to 274 collated polling station results, with the POs made to confirm the results because the NDC agents refused to confirm them.

On January 8, 2025, he said four polling station results, received from the NPP, were added to the collation and were confirmed by the respective POs.

“The respective officers signed their respective pink sheets to confirm their authenticity.

“On all of these days, both the NPP and the NDC agents present and witnessed the confirmation of the signed pink sheets by the Presiding Officers and this brought to 278 collated polling station results and so three polling station results outstanding,” Dr Asare said.

Request for protection

On January 15, 2025, Dr Asare said the commission went to the National Security Task Force to inform them that the collation on January 8, 2025 was not complete and, therefore, needed security to complete it on Friday, January 17, 2025, but the police informed the commission that intelligence available to them required the exercise to be put on hold.

As a result of inadequate security, party supporters invaded the old office of the commission and destroyed properties of the commission, he said.

Again, on January 26, 2025, the commission wrote to the National Election Security Task Force requesting for a meeting on the completion of the collation process.

“In a response to our letter, the Ghana Police Service indicated that to ensure a peaceful and successful exercise, the Election Security Task Force has begun the consultative process for a convenient date and time for the meeting with all stakeholders associated with the exercise scheduled to be held at the National Police Headquarters,” he said.

Dr Bossman also gave accounts of their attempts to seek protection since then till March 28, this year, when the commission again wrote to the Ghana Police Service to inform it about the three polling station results which were still outstanding and the need to complete the collation.