Ace sports journalist Saddick Adams has joined others in criticizing the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, for the commission’s inability to announce the winners of the December 7 elections earlier.
The December 7 election saw tensions rise as the nation awaited results from the Electoral Commission. According to Adams, this prolonged delay, without the losing candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, conceding defeat, could have thrown the country into chaos.
In a tweet on X, Adams suggested that without the clear margin of victory by the president-elect and the candidate of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, and Bawumia’s early concession, the EC’s delay could have led to widespread unrest.
“The current EC would’ve plunged the whole country into chaos but for God’s intervention and how this election wrapped up, i.e., President Mahama’s margin of victory and Dr. Bawumia’s early concession. Had this been a tight contest, things would’ve gone south, and it’s pretty obvious,” he tweeted.
Jean Mensah and the Electoral Commission came under fire after they could not announce the winner of the December 7 elections as early as citizens expected. It took 48 hours for the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission to declare the winner while the New Patriotic Party‘s candidate Dr. Bawumia, in less than 24 hours after the elections, conceded defeat citing data he and his party had gathered as the basis.
Critics of the Electoral Commission (EC) argue that while the law grants the EC 72 hours to declare election results, its failure to do so earlier—especially when the two major political parties, the NPP and NDC, had collated their results and understood their standings within hours after the polls—demonstrates incompetence.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission (EC) explained that disruptions caused by supporters of various political parties besieging collation centers affected its operations. Addressing a press conference at around 2 a.m. at the EC headquarters in Accra, the Deputy Chairman in charge of Operations, Samuel Tettey, lamented that these supporters were hindering progress by obstructing EC officials and disrupting their activities.
Read tweet below:
The current EC would’ve plunged the whole country into chaos but for God’s intervention and how this elections wrapped up ie President Mahama’s margin of victory and Dr Bawumia’s early concession.
Had this been a tight contest, things would’ve gone south & it’s pretty obvious.
— Saddick Adams (@SaddickAdams) December 13, 2024
Watch the latest edition of Sports Debate below:
FKA/BB
