Dr. Kwame Jantuah, a prominent member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and a legal practitioner, has criticised the Electoral Commission’s (EC) re-collation of parliamentary results, labelling the process as ‘one-sided’.
The re-collation, which took place at the EC’s regional office in Accra, resulted in the declaration of results in seven constituencies, all of which favoured the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The affected constituencies were Ahafo Ano North, Techiman South, Ahafo Ano South West, Nsawam Adoagyiri, Obuasi East, Okaikwei Central, and Tema Central.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed strong reservations, calling the re-collation process illegal and announcing that they would not accept the results.
Speaking on GHOne TV, Dr. Jantuah expressed his confusion and frustration with the EC’s actions, questioning the motives behind the re-collation process.
He also slammed the EC’s lack of evidence to support their claims of duress, pointing out that the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, is a lawyer and should understand the importance of evidence.
He pointed out the presence of police officers at polling stations, asking what role they played in maintaining order and why the alleged duress was cited without further clarification.
Dr. Jantuah emphasised that the handling of the re-collation process gives the impression of bias. “For me, I think this thing is one-sided, and it gives the perception that the EC is imbued with the New Patriotic Party (NPP),” he said.
“I don’t understand what the EC is trying to do. Some constituencies were declared and the next thing the Electoral Commission said there was duress. How can a political party put duress on you, the EC, to declare something that isn’t right? I don’t understand this. Shouldn’t the EC be speaking with their officers to explain with evidence? Did she show us the video when she was doing the press conference to the public? I didn’t see, and everything is evidence.
"She’s a lawyer. Everything is evidence, so where’s the evidence to show that there was duress? Weren’t there police officers at the polling stations? What were they doing there? Weren’t they supposed to keep order? What happened?”
Watch as Jean Mensa addresses issues with 9 constituencies whose results are yet to be declared