NDC rejects EC’s directive for polling station rerun in Dome/Kwabenya

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has rejected a directive issued by the Electoral Commission (EC) for a rerun of elections at an outstanding polling station in the Dome/Kwabenya constituency.

The directive has sparked controversy and intense debates, with the NDC firmly opposing the decision and asserting that their candidate, Elikplim Akurugu, has already secured victory in the constituency.

EC’s directive was announced on Saturday, December 28, following the continuation of results collation for the Dome/Kwabenya constituency at its Greater Accra office.

The decision to call for a rerun stemmed from the absence of a pink sheet for the Abokobi Women’s Development Centre 2 polling station. The pink sheet serves as the official summary of results for polling stations, making it a critical document in the collation and declaration process.

According to Dr Serebour Quaicoe, the EC’s Director of Training, the returning officers responsible for collating the constituency’s results reported that results from 367 polling stations had been successfully collated.

However, three results were outstanding at the time of submission. Subsequently, the three missing results were brought forward, but one of them was rejected outright due to procedural irregularities.

“The commission rejected one of them outrightly on the stance that it was declared on a wrong statement of poll because they used training sheets, which is not the one that they should use. So the commission has rejected one, so we decided to come and add the two and see what happens,” Dr. Quaicoe clarified.

The NDC however responded with strong opposition, rejecting the EC’s decision and questioning the need for a rerun.

Rashid Tanko Computer, the Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the NDC voiced the party’s concerns in an interview with the media.

He insisted that their candidate, Elikplim Akurugu, had already secured a clear victory based on the results collated from the majority of polling stations.

“There was a difference of 1,154 votes, and so if today we are having a problem with one polling station, that polling station should be taken out. The voter population for that polling station is 689, so when you deduct 689 from 1,154, your guess is as good as mine,” he stated confidently.

Rashid Tanko Computer further criticised the EC for what he described as errors in their calculations and handling of the situation.

“These people have issues with arithmetic, and so we will do the calculation for them. They should hold their horses because Elikplim has won the election, and we will not accept their so-called rerun.”

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