NDC won’t agree to any re-collation exercise attempt by EC – Mustapha Gbande

The deputy general secretary of the NDC, Mustapha Gbande has disclosed that the party won’t lend its support to any attempt by the Electoral Commission to recollate the parliamentary results for areas under contention.

His comment comes amid a lawsuit filed by the NDC to block the EC from re-collating and redeclaring the parliamentary results for the Dome-Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, and Obuasi East constituencies.

Speaking on ABC in the Morning, he accused the EC of acting in ways inimical to its own C.I 127, which he says undermines the integrity of the electoral process.

He further took a swipe at the NPP’s vice presidential candidate, Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, popularly referred to as NAPO, stating that his character does not qualify him for the Flagstaff house, and added that the NPP should accept their loss.

The NDC argues that the EC no longer has the authority to carry out re-collation processes after the initial results were declared.

The legal action stems from ongoing disputes over the initial collation, where the EC declared the results for these constituencies invalid due to alleged procedural irregularities.

During a press briefing on Friday, December 13, Samuel Tettey, the Deputy EC Chair for Operations, explained that the results could not be upheld because they did not adhere to the procedures outlined in CI 127, even though police presence was ensured at the collation centres to oversee the process.

Tettey emphasized that the irregularities had compromised the results, necessitating their annulment.

The NDC, however, contends that the EC has no authority to re-collate the results after they had already declared the initial winners, particularly candidates from the NDC.

The NDC’s legal motion, filed alongside five other applicants, seeks a declaration that the EC is “functus officio” and is prohibited from re-collating, recounting, or redeclaring the results in the contested constituencies.

The applicants, including Faustina Elikplim Akurugu, Baba Sadiq, Ewurabena Aubynn, Ebi Bright, and Samuel Aboagye, argue that only the High Court has the jurisdiction to invalidate parliamentary election results, as outlined in Article 99 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Section 16 of PNDCL 284.