Critics of the Electoral Commission, particularly, the National Democratic Congress and their allies, have sought to question not only the rationale behind the EC’s decision to re-collate results of some nine disputed constituencies but have also said that there is no precedent to it.
A trip down memory lane reveals that there have been several instances in our electoral history in which re-collation took place after results were declared.
In the year 1998, under Dr. Afari-Gyan, during the District level elections in the Dompoase Kokwaado Electoral area in the KEEA District, the EC overturned an earlier declaration and went ahead to declare the right person the winner.
The Electoral Commission, under the chairmanship of Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, in the year 2004, re-collated and overturned parliamentary results for the Pru Constituency in then Brong Ahafo Region. The NDC candidate was declared the winner after the re-collation instead of the NPP’s candidate who had been declared winner earlier.
It is also important to stress that re-collation of results following disruption of electoral process is not foreign to our political and electoral systems.
In 2004, under Dr. Afari-Gyan, the parliamentary results for the Tolon Constituency underwent a re-collation exercise and the right person declared the winner.
In Yapei-Kusawgu, in the year 2004, under Dr. Afari-Gyan, a re-collation exercise took place and the right person was declared the winner. A similar exercise took place in Zabzugu in the same 2004 elections when Dr. Afari-Gyan was chairman for the EC.
In the face of these incontrovertible facts, the complaints from the NDC and their allies about why the EC has undertaken re-collation exercises are moot. They have no case at all.
P.K. Sarpong, Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place.
