The Electoral Commission’s announcement that the declaration of results of the forthcoming presidential polls could be stopped and a recount initiated if the results were too close has been roundly booed and met with stiff opposition by some of the political parties.
Mrs Charlotte Osei, the EC Chairperson hinted in an interview with the BBC’s Akwasi Sarpong last week that a recount of ballots will be ordered when the results are too close to call.
According to her, the commission was expecting to declare the results within 48 and 72 hours after polling ends on December 7 without failure, and that the only thing that may delay or may call for recount is when the result was too close.
She added that the recount will be done to ensure that the wrong person is not declared winner, and to take away every form of doubt in the minds of Ghanaians over the final results.
“Our elections in Ghana tend to be very close. If it is so close, it might be prudent to stop, inform everyone, do a total recount and be sure of what we are announcing finally,” Mrs Osei said in an interview with BBC Africa which was carried live via Facebook on Thursday.
But her position on recount of results has been challenged hours after it went viral.
A member of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) communication’s team, Charles Owusu argues the EC Chair’s character and activities exposes her hidden motives that “she’s up to some political mischief” and so”, the party will check her every move in this electioneering year.
He vowed that the PPP will not allow for any recounting of the results and warn Madam Charlotte Osei to beware of the repercussions that may accompany her and the Commission’s attempts to recount the results.
Contributing to a panel discussion on PeaceFM’s “Kokrokoo”, Charles Owusu stated emphatically that “Madam Charlotte Osei is joking. There’s too much play on her eyes but Ghana is a serious country. I sometimes ask if there are leaders in Ghana…It’s not the Electoral Commission that calls for recounting. We will not allow that thing to happen in this country. We won’t allow it.”
He stressed that “there won’t be any recounting in this country. If there will be recounting, it will be done at where we’re collating the figures together. It won’t be after we’ve declared the elections at the constituency level that we will do the recounting. Change is coming. It will be like a dream to Madam Charlotte Osei.”
Also speaking to the issue, the Director of Elections of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Martin Agyei Mensah Korsah asserted that the commission has no power to call for a recount.
In a radio interview on Accra based Neat FM, he pointed that it was only a candidate or a polling agent who could call for a recount; and noted that, even with that, it has to be done at the polling station or at the constituency collation centre and that cannot be more than two times.
“Maybe the commissioner was referring to the summaries,” he said and added that it was “not the duty of the EC to call for a recount since the law does not permit that, its only candidates or polling agents who can call for a recount. We don’t really understand what she means by that.”
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