The Electoral Commission (EC) has raised alarms over the disruption of the collation process for the Ablekuma North Constituency’s parliamentary election results, following an outbreak of violence on January 17, 2025.
The EC, in a press release signed by Deputy Chairman for Operations, Samuel Tettey, expressed grave concerns about the safety of its staff and the security of its premises, emphasising the urgent need for protection to fulfil its constitutional mandate.
This development follows a High Court order issued on January 4, 2025, directing the EC to resume the collation of results and declare winners for four outstanding parliamentary elections.
The EC noted that collation for Ablekuma North commenced on January 8, 2025, but was stalled due to three missing polling station results out of 281.
A subsequent request to the Ghana Police Service for enhanced security to continue the exercise on January 17, 2025, yielded a troubling response.
“The Commission was alerted by the Police that, per the intelligence available to them, the exercise should be put on hold,” stated the release.
According to the Commission, this hesitation by the Police to provide the necessary security paved the way for chaos. Supporters, identified as being led by the Greater Accra Regional Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), invaded the EC’s old headquarters, destroying property including furniture and louvre blades.
It furthered that others stormed the new corporate headquarters on motorbikes, issuing threats that forced staff to flee.
“Our staff identified two men in military uniforms without name tags among the supporters,” the statement disclosed, adding that video footage has been made available to the Police to aid in identifying and prosecuting the culprits. The EC emphasized that such threats to lives and property are “unacceptable and should not be allowed to continue.”
The Commission also called on the government to engage the Police Service to provide adequate security, stressing that the ability to conduct its operations in a safe environment is critical to delivering on its mandate.
“We are working round the clock to ensure that the people of Ablekuma North have their Member of Parliament,” the EC assured, but highlighted that this goal hinges on effective cooperation from the Police.
