Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) has justified its decision to re-collate parliamentary results in nine constituencies, citing previous instances where re-collation has been necessary to ensure accuracy and fairness. This move comes after alleged discrepancies were found in earlier collations.
The EC emphasized that re-collation after initial declarations is not unprecedented, highlighting past cases in 1998 and 2004 where re-collation led to changes in reported outcomes.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has defended its decision to re-collate parliamentary election results, citing past instances where Dr. Afari Gyan, a former EC Chairperson, ordered re-collation and re-declaration of results in several constituencies.
According to a press statement released by the Electoral Commission, “Re-collation after the declaration of results is not new. It has happened before”
The Electoral Commission (EC) cited the following examples to support its decision to re-collate parliamentary election results:
- 1998: During district-level elections in the Dompose Kokwaado Electoral Area in the KEEA District, the EC, under the leadership of Dr. Afari Gyan, overturned an earlier declaration and declared the correct candidate as the winner.
- 2004: Under Dr. Afari Gyan, the EC re-collated parliamentary results in the Pru Constituency, overturning the initial declaration in favour of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, who was subsequently declared the winner over the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate.
- 2004: The Tolon Constituency results were re-collated, and the correct candidate was declared the winner.
- 2004: Re-collation also took place in the Yapei-Kusawgu Constituency, leading to the declaration of the rightful winner.
- 2004: Similarly, in the Zabzugu Constituency, a re-collation resulted in the correct candidate being declared as the winner.