Mike Oquaye Jnr and Elipklim Akurugu; NPP and NDC parliamentary candidates respectfully
The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has announced plans to conduct a rerun of the elections in the Dome Kwabenya constituency.
According to the EC, the rerun will take place at the Abokobi Women’s Development Centre 2 before the official inauguration on January 7, 2025.
Currently, the Dome Kwabenya seat is under contention after EC officials declared the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Elikplim Akurugu, the winner of the December 7, 2024, elections.
The EC’s decision follows the completion of the collation process for 367 polling stations, which revealed discrepancies in the results of three outstanding stations.
Earlier, disagreements and conflicting claims emerged during the collation exercise on Saturday, December 28, 2024, escalating tensions and nearly disrupting the process.
Disputes over the number of polling stations requiring re-collation and the validity of earlier declarations arose when the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Mike Oquaye Jnr. raised objections.
He cited discrepancies in the number of polling stations left to be collated before chaos disrupted the initial process.
Mike Oquaye Jnr. argued that the NPP was not present during the collation of results from 85 out of the 88 polling stations, which, in his view, invalidated the subsequent declaration made in their absence.
The National Democratic Congress, on the other hand, maintained that only three polling stations remained to be collated, rejecting the claims made by their opponents.
Due to the unresolved discrepancies in one outstanding polling station, the EC has decided to proceed with a rerun. The official date for this rerun is yet to be announced.
Elikplim Akurugu of the NDC was initially declared the winner of the parliamentary election in Dome Kwabenya, flipping a seat previously considered safe for the NPP.
However, her victory was marred by allegations of irregularities and claims that some pink sheets were tampered with after party supporters reportedly besieged the collation centre.
MAG/MA
