As four constituencies continue to recall the results of the parliamentary election under strict security, tension is growing at the National Police Training School in Tesano, Accra.
There are disagreements among the participating constituencies in the Eastern Region on the preliminary collation process: Suhum, Nsawam, Fanteakwa North, and Akwatia.
After attempts to complete the collation in the Eastern Region failed, the exercise, which is supervised by the Electoral Commission (EC), was shifted to Tesano.
Stakeholders are worried about the move, especially the National Democratic Congress (NDC), whose leaders have questioned the fairness and transparency of the process.
Controversies that surfaced during the initial collation in the Eastern Region led to the decision to re-collect the results.
The Commission decided to shift the procedure to Accra because of a deadlock caused by disagreements between party agents and EC officials on the integrity and correctness of the results. The NDC is among the critics who contend that moving the collation damages the voting process' legitimacy.
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), on the other hand, has justified the EC's actions, claiming that the action is required to maintain accuracy and order.
NDC Deputy General Secretary Peter Boamah Otokunor called the situation "extremely concerning" in an interview with Citi News correspondent Fred Duhoe. We were asked to continue the collation at the National Police Training School.
As an aside, when I arrived, all of our executives from Nsawam and Suhum were present except for Akwatia. They had begun the exercise without them, so I questioned how they could conduct a collation exercise without the other side, and I requested that they halt it since it is illegal.
"I asked the Regional EC Director for two hours so that I could bring the Akwatia officers here, but he refused, claiming it was an order from above."