The Electoral Commission (EC), has called on the leadership of the political parties to advise their supporters to desist from infiltrating collation centres to enable returning officers to collate results from the polling centres.
Addressing the media at the National Collation Centre at the EC headquarters this morning in Accra, Deputy Chairperson of the EC in charge of operations, Samuel Tettey said the infiltration of these centers by supporters has delayed the collation process at its head office.
“We, therefore, entreat the supporters to leave the collation centres to enable the returning officers to collate the results from the polling stations.
We trust that the political parties will advise them to do so,” he said.
As of 5 am this morning, the EC has not received a single result from any of its officers from the regional collation centres across the 16 regions.
That, he said, is attributed to the interference of supporters of some political parties at the collation centres.
He said political parties are supposed to have two agents at each of the collation centres for each candidate.
“We call on political parties not to besiege the collation centres and withdraw their supporters with immediate effect and call on the Ghana Police Service to step in.
“The actions of the supporters are impeding the collation process,” he said.
He said the Commission has also received reports from the Tano South, that some party agents forced the returning officer to declare the Parliamentary results without collation.
He, therefore, called on all its permanent and temporary staff not to be forced by any pressure that would lead to the violation of its rules.
He further indicated that results produced without due process would not be recognised adding that votes for each candidate have already been counted and announced at the polling stations and collated based on the pink sheet.
There is therefore no need for the political parties to go to the polling stations.
He said there was, therefore, no need for the supporters of the political parties to go to the collation centres as the political parties already have copies of the pink sheet.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah
