The National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s Director of Elections and IT, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, has responded to President Nana Akufo-Addo‘s recent remarks urging political parties to avoid declaring election results before the official count by the Electoral Commission (EC).
The President’s statement was made during the Bar Conference in Kumasi on September 9, 2024, where he reiterated that only the EC is constitutionally mandated to announce the final election results.
In a Facebook post dated September 10, 2024, Dr. Omane Boamah clarified that while the NDC would not declare election results independently, the party would still make its collated results publicly available prior to the EC’s official declaration.
“Mr. President, we will not declare but we will let Ghanaians and the world know our collated results well ahead of the Electoral Commission, just as we did during the Assin North by-election in 2023.”
“He affirmed the party’s acknowledgment of the EC’s role, stating, “ee agree that declaration is for the EC!” However, he also raised questions about why similar advice was not given to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the 2016 elections, when the NPP’s campaign manager, Mac Manu, reportedly claimed the NPP would declare its own results if necessary.
“If you’ll indulge me, why didn’t you offer Mac Manu the same advice in 2016 when he was reported to have said, ‘we’ll declare our [NPP] own election results against all odds’?”
President Akufo-Addo’s call for political restraint comes as the country gears up for another general election, emphasizing that only the EC has the authority to declare election results to reflect the true will of the people.
Meanwhile, the EC Chairperson, Jean Adukwei Mensa, has assured Ghanaians that the upcoming elections will be conducted with transparency, fairness, and peace.
Source: InsiderGH.com
