The Electoral Commission (EC) has clarified that the decision to use scanned copies of pink sheets during the collation of parliamentary election results in the Ablekuma North constituency was unanimously agreed upon by both the Commission and representatives of the two major political parties—the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Deputy Chairperson of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Asare, made this known during a press briefing on Thursday, July 10, ahead of the constituency’s controversial parliamentary rerun.
According to him, the use of scanned pink sheets became necessary after both the NDC and the NPP admitted they no longer had carbon copies of some of the original results in their custody.
“The decision to accept the scanned pink sheets from the parties was unanimously agreed upon by the Commission and the political parties, that is, the NDC and the NPP,” Dr. Bossman stated.
He explained that on December 21, 2024, during an attempt to resume the halted collation process, 25 polling station results were submitted by the NPP in the form of carbon copies—not scanned sheets.
Dr. Bossman noted that the NDC’s agents, who arrived late at the collation center that day, were allowed to review and verify 10 of the carbonised results.
The remaining 15 were later authenticated by both parties, bringing the total number of polling stations collated to 244, with 37 still outstanding at the time.
On January 5, 2025, the EC added 17 more results submitted by the NPP to the collation process—this time with verification from NDC agents—bringing the total number of collated polling stations to 261.
Dr. Bossman further indicated that on January 6, 13 scanned pink sheets were introduced into the collation process. These were also provided by the NPP but were authenticated by the respective presiding officers, who personally confirmed their signatures and the validity of the results.
“This step was taken after complaints from NDC agents, prompting the Commission to invite the presiding officers of the respective polling stations to confirm the scanned copies of the pink sheets,” Dr. Bossman explained.
These additions brought the total number of polling stations collated to 274.
The EC’s remarks come amid tensions and legal challenges over the Commission’s decision to hold a rerun in 19 polling stations in the Ablekuma North constituency. The NPP has announced a boycott of the process, accusing the Commission of acting in contempt of a pending High Court order.
Source: Prince Adu-Owusu
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