The Electoral Commission (EC) has officially gazetted the parliamentary election results for 274 constituencies and submitted them to the Clerk of Parliament. However, the results for two constituencies, Ablekuma North and Dome Kwabenya, remain outstanding due to incomplete results sheets (pink sheets) from some polling stations.
At a press conference in Accra, Dr. Bossman Asare, Deputy Chair of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, announced that the Commission is in discussions with relevant stakeholders to set a date for the re-collation of results for the two constituencies. He reassured the public that the results would be finalized before the swearing-in of the 9th Parliament on January 7, 2025.
“We are hopeful that the two outstanding constituencies will have their Members of Parliament-elect very, very soon, way before the swearing-in in Parliament,” Dr. Asare stated.
The EC completed the collation of results for seven other constituencies on December 21, 2024. These constituencies include Obuasi East, Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Tema Central, Ahafo Ano North, Okaikwei Central, Ahafo Ano South, and Techiman South. However, the re-collation of results for Ablekuma North and Dome Kwabenya was suspended due to incomplete pink sheets.
Regarding Ablekuma North, the EC is still awaiting results from 37 polling stations. For Dome Kwabenya, the necessary hard copies of pink sheets from three polling stations were not provided by the political parties, leading to the suspension of the re-collation process.
Dr. Bossman Asare addressed criticisms of the re-collation exercise, clarifying that the earlier declarations of results in the affected constituencies did not follow due process, as the Returning Officers were under duress. He emphasized that the EC would not validate an illegal process, which is why the decision was made to re-collate the results.
“While the C.I.s are specific that you cannot re-collate after declarations, we want to state that those declarations should follow due process. Declarations that we do not re-collate are those that follow due process. The current ones are an illegality, and they cannot be upheld by the Commission,” Dr. Asare explained.
He also noted that re-collation of results is not a new practice, citing examples from the 2004 elections where results from constituencies such as Zabzugu-Tatale, Tolon, Yapei-Kusawgu, and Pru were re-collated due to irregularities in the collation process.
