The Electoral Commission (EC) has dismissed calls for an immediate re-run of the 2024 parliamentary election in Ablekuma North Constituency, emphasizing that the results from three outstanding polling stations are still valid but yet to be fully collated.
The delay in finalizing the results stems from security concerns at the collation centre.
The Ghana Police Service is currently consulting with the Attorney General’s Department to determine the safest and most effective way to provide security for the completion of the collation process.
“We’ve followed up with the police, and they have indicated that they have not received any advice from the Attorney General,” Dr. Asare disclosed, emphasizing that the matter now lies with the Attorney General’s office, their advice will determine whether the police will provide the commission with protection for the collation.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, 19 June 2025, Dr. Bossman Asare, the EC’s Deputy Chairperson responsible for Corporate Affairs, clarified that the Commission has not reached a stage to declare the election inconclusive.
“For Ablekuma North, we have not arrived at a point where we say the results are unavailable. Only if we exhaust all efforts and fail to obtain the results will we consider a re-run. The re-run will be a last option,” Dr. Asare explained.
The controversy originated after disruptions at the constituency’s collation centre during the 2024 general elections halted the tallying process.
Heightened political tensions between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have further complicated the situation, with both parties disputing the incomplete results.
Dr. Asare revealed that the Commission incurred costs amounting to GHS 3.6 million for reprinting presidential ballots and GHS 2.4 million for parliamentary ballots in the Eastern and Western Regions during the 2024 elections, highlighting the significant financial implications of potential re-runs.
The Electoral Commission continues to call for calm and patience from all stakeholders as it works diligently to conclude the process, ensuring transparency and the integrity of the electoral outcome in Ablekuma North.
Dr. Asare refuted allegations of procurement breaches related to the reprinting of ballot papers for the 2024 general elections following reports of a leak.
Dr. Asare assured Parliament that the Commission acted within legal frameworks, having obtained the necessary approval from the Central Tender Review Committee (CTRC) before contracting the printing firms.
“There was no breach of procurement law, there was no breach. The Commission wrote to the CTRC on December 2nd, ahead of the elections scheduled for December 7th,” Dr. Asare affirmed adding “In the response of the CTRC they indicated that we wrote to them on 2nd December and before we printed the ballots we wrote to the CTRC so CTRC knew all the printing houses and the specifics they were printing so we didn’t go to PPA.”
Source : www.kumasimail.com /Kwadwo Owusu
