Lower Manya NPP appeals for recount of ballot

New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) parliamentary candidate for the Lower Manya Krobo Constituency, Mr Samuel Teddy Nuertey Ayertey, has rejected the outcome of the December 7, 2016 election and is going through the court process for a recount.

Mr Ayertey, 45, a lecturer at the Koforidua Technical University, who was beaten by the incumbent Member of Parliament for Lower Manya Krobo, Mr Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, with 327 votes, said he was highly suspicious of errors in the counting of the ballot, hence the need for recount to clear his doubt.

Mr Terlabi had 19,710 votes while Mr Ayertey had 19,383 votes.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Odumase Krobo, Mr Ayertey explained that after the calculation of the total number of the pink sheets, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) realised that he had won at most of the polling stations which were their strongholds, including Nuaso Korlenya, a suburb of Odumase Krobo where the party’s constituency office is located. The party became aggrieved and requested for a recount of that polling station. He said when the Electoral Commission did the recount; it was rather in his interest as he got an additional vote.

He said that situation, coupled with some rumours, had raised his suspicion that he lost more votes during the counting and collation and was calling for recount of the whole constituency ballots to clear his doubt. However, the EC Municipal officer said he had no authority to do that unless the court gave an order. He said based on that, he refused to sign the final results compiled by the EC, awaiting the outcome of his protest.

“When the process is gone through by recounting the ballots, whatever be the results will clear all doubt on my mind and the minds of my electorate,’’ he said.

According to Mr Ayertey, he had also met his regional party officials and the legal team was working on the issue to file the necessary documents in court after the 21 days when the presidential result would have been gazetted.

He said in the presidential race in 2012, the NDC beat NPP with over 10,000 votes but due to the hard work of his team, the NPP moved from 12,000 to over 16,000 votes in this year’s election.

He noted that the Krobo area, and for that matter Dangme areas, was relegated to the background in development due to the voting pattern and appealed to the incoming government to turn to these areas for development as the people made history by giving the party a seat in a Krobo area.

The Lower Manya Krobo NPP parliamentary candidate asked his constituents to remain calm until the truth comes out.