Former Member of Parliament for Suame, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
The former Member of Parliament for Suame, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, recently shared his experience regarding the collation of parliamentary results during the 2020 elections.
Speaking on News File on Joy News on Saturday, December 28, 2024, he described the process as particularly troubling.
According to him, despite the Electoral Commission (EC) informing him that the process would begin at 9 a.m., he [Mensah-Bonsu] arrived fifteen minutes late and found that half of the results had already been collated, leading to disagreements with EC officials.
He stated that discrepancies were discovered, showing that approximately 3,500 votes had been incorrectly allocated to his opponent.
“I had indicated to them that I was conducting my own collation. We started afresh, as I strongly objected to the actions they had taken,” he said.
He emphasised a particularly worrying development when he found the returning officer later sobbing profusely in the washroom, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the actions taken.
“We went there and found him sitting on the ground and he was sobbing profusely. The returning officer, I don’t want to mention his name, and I knew his political leaning. And yet, because we had been together for quite a while, I was taking care of the guy’s school fees at university, and yet that’s what happened,” he recalled.
The former Majority Leader underscored the importance of the Supreme Court’s ruling on election processes, advocating for transparency and fairness.
“As I’ve said, the Supreme Court made a determination. Let whatever ought to be done be done before the closure. All that we need to know is the truth. One person may win, certainly, but it must be done and done right,” he stated.
He stressed the need to resolve electoral disputes through proper channels rather than confrontational tactics.
“Why would anybody say that we will not allow the recognition to happen? Why? And then people say, ‘oh, let’s go and mass up and prevent them from doing whatever.’ Is it necessary, or perhaps has the time come for us to resort to electoral voting? If we’re doing this, all these directing people to go and mass up at some places will not even be necessary anyway,” he added.
Watch the video below:
An EC Officer found in a washroom sobbing, interesting calculations, collation attempts at Suame, betrayal, and more.
– Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu narrates his collation experience. #Newsfile pic.twitter.com/QCJxbRvbjf
— JoyNews (@JoyNewsOnTV) December 28, 2024
JKB/MA
Watch the ruling of the disputed parliamentary results below
