The High Court has directed the Electoral Commission (EC) to collate and declare results from 147 polling stations in the Techiman South constituency by January 6, 2025.
This decision addresses discrepancies in the initial declaration, which excluded a significant portion of the constituency’s votes.
The court’s ruling stems from findings that the EC had declared Adjei-Mensah Korsah of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as the winner based on results from only 135 of the 282 polling stations in the constituency. The unaccounted-for results from 147 polling stations are believed to have the potential to significantly affect the final outcome.
According to court documents, the opposition candidate Chris Beyere of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) received 17,874 votes from the collated stations, while Korsah garnered 25,933 votes. The NDC argued that the omission of results from the remaining polling stations constituted a violation of electoral laws, undermining the integrity of the election process.
In its judgment, the court criticized the EC’s failure to address a formal demand made on December 13, 2024, for a complete collation of results. The court viewed this inaction as a neglect of the commission’s statutory obligations. It also noted reports that the returning officer responsible for declaring the results faced external pressures during the announcement, casting further doubts on the legitimacy of the process.
The High Court’s directive requires the EC to ensure that results from the 147 outstanding polling stations are properly collated and declared by the returning officer before the January 6 deadline. This move aims to uphold the principles of transparency and fairness in the electoral process.
The ruling has been welcomed by various stakeholders as a step toward restoring public confidence in Ghana’s electoral system. The EC has yet to issue an official response to the court’s decision.
