Abdulai Abu Baba Abubakar Sadiq, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Okaikwei Central, has been declared the Member of Parliament-elect for the constituency, defeating the incumbent, Patrick Yaw Boamah, in a highly contested race during the 2024 general elections.
While early results initially suggested that Boamah had won the constituency, protests from the NDC prompted the Electoral Commission (EC) to revisit the figures.
Following a review, the EC officially declared Baba Sadiq as the winner.
Baba Sadiq secured 15,383 votes, while Patrick Boamah, representing the New Patriotic Party (NPP), received 14,949 votes. The declaration came after the NDC called for the EC to use two-thirds of the available polling station results to announce the results for Okaikwei Central.
The EC had identified anomalies in around 31 pink sheets, prompting consultations before a final decision was made.
The NDC argued that using two-thirds of the 141 representing 78 percent polling stations was a valid basis for declaring the results, but the NPP disagreed.
The NPP representative, however, remained silent during the discussions. The contested pink sheets for the contested polling stations were sealed in a ballot box and stored until feedback was received from the Greater Accra Regional Director of the EC.
Collation delays had already marred the process, particularly on December 7 at the Ansurudeen Islamic School polling station, where confusion over space led to disagreements and chaos.
The Presiding Officer’s request to reduce the number of polling agents sparked tensions, eventually resulting in the destruction of voting booths and further delays in the collation process.
Despite the challenges, the collation was completed, and Baba Sadiq’s victory was confirmed, marking a major win for the NDC in the Okaikwei Central constituency.
Culled from citinewsroom.com
