You don’t just wake up and declare results in 24hrs - Afriyie Ankrah to EC

The main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said there are vigorous processes that must be followed before the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission declares results of the presidential contest.

Thus, he wonders why the election management body claims it will declare winner of the December 7 polls in 24 hours.

Mrs Jean Mensa recently told the Council of State on Friday, November 20, 2020 that: “We are promoting some efficiency into the system”, adding: “We have worked with our numbers, and we have a duration within which the results should be transmitted”.

“We are expecting that by the next day, we should be able to declare the results”, she noted.

She added: “We do not intend to go beyond 24 hours. And we are confident that God being our helper, because of the efficiency we have introduced into the processes, we should be able to declare results within 24 hours.”

However, the Director of Elections of the NDC, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, told journalists on Wednesday, 25 November 2020, that: “After the close of polls, the ballots are sorted and counted at every polling station and then signed by both the party agents and the Presiding Officer.

“When that is done, the results of the polling stations are now sent to the constituency collation centre for the collation of same in the constituency by the constituency’s Returning Officer. Before the Returning Officer can declare the results, the officer must see all the individual results from all the polling stations.”

“Therefore, before the Electoral Commission [Chair], who is the Returning Officer for the presidential election, declares the results, she must have received all the results from all the 275 constituencies, not the 16 regions, and certify that what she has is truly what happened with the signatures of all the political party agents.

“That is what happens and it is the proper time-tested system over the years.

“So, one does not just wake up and say that we will announce just any results in 24 hours just to set a record,” Afriyie Ankrah said.