'What is happening?’ - NDC questions delay in arrival of election results at National Collation Centre

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has held an emergency press conference at its headquarters to raise concerns about what it says is an unprecedented delay in the arrival of certified election results from the Regional Collation Centres to the National Collation Centre.

The National Collation Centre is where final certified election results from the regional collation centres are declared officially by the Returning Officers.

Speaking at the press conference on December 8, 2020, NDC’s Director of Elections, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, said as of 9 a.m. not a single result arrived at the Electoral Commission’s strong room, even though the commission has said it will declare final election results by 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

“What is happening? No one single result has arrived at the National Collation Centre. This is unprecedented. Beyond that at the regional level, even whiles we were here, the constituency results are being declared and yet the results are not arriving at the regional offices of the EC and yet our people are there at the regional collation centre, waiting for the results. So what processes are they going to go through? It is important that they go through the process. Please go and verify these yourselves,” he said.

He said the EC’s strange decision to prevent the polling station results to arrive at the National Collation Centre for final authentication at the Strong Room of the EC could prove dangerous for the country’s peace.

“The EC should not plunge this country into any crisis. They must follow the proper procedure – from polling station to constituency collation centre, from constituency collation centre to the regional collation centre, from the regional to the national then it goes to the strong room then it will be verified and authenticated. That is the process. Anything short of that will be unacceptable,” he warned.

Presidential and parliamentary polls closed at 5 p.m. on Monday in an election that is crucial to the key contenders, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NDC, led by John Dramani Mahama.

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