The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ablekuma North Constituency of the Greater Accra region has called for an immediate investigation into allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities that marred the 7 December 2024 parliamentary elections.

The party accuses both the Electoral Commission (EC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of manipulating the election results, which led to the controversial annulment of the NDC candidate’s victory.

The issues began with an unexplained two-day delay in the collation of results at the Ablekuma North District Collation Centre. This delay raised concerns among NDC representatives and local voters, particularly as several pink sheets from both the EC and the NDC went missing.

The NPP also failed to provide a full set of pink sheets at the district office, instead relying on electronic data from their parliamentary candidate's phone.

Compounding the irregularities, the EC disclosed that 18 presidential pink sheets were unaccounted for before the collation process had even started. Further allegations surfaced, with the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) accused of smuggling in 490 votes from dubious parliamentary pink sheets to inflate the NPP’s vote count.

NDC members claim to have witnessed this act, raising concerns that other instances of electoral manipulation went unreported.

On 7th December, the initial collation process covered results from 165 out of 281 polling stations. When the collation resumed on 9th December at the EC’s regional office, results from 219 polling stations were included, leaving 62 polling stations unresolved.

Despite repeated requests from the Returning Officer (RO) for the missing pink sheets, the NPP failed to provide them. As a result, on 10th December, the RO declared Ewurabena Aubynn of the NDC as the winner.

This declaration was supported by the EC’s Greater Accra Regional Director, Madam Gladys Pinkrah, and formalised with a signed writ.

However, shortly after the declaration, EC Chairperson Madam Jean Mensa sought to annul the results, claiming that the Returning Officer had acted under duress.

No police report was filed to substantiate this claim, and the matter was subsequently taken to court. The High Court ordered the continuation of the collation process for the 62 remaining polling stations, even though the EC had no data for these stations, raising further doubts about the integrity of the process.

The collation continued amid further irregularities. Over 20 polling stations had their results collated without the presence of NDC agents. The Returning Officer offered insufficient explanations when questioned.

The EC relied on scanned results submitted by the NPP, and 13 unidentified presiding officers were presented to authenticate the results. Some of these results displayed questionable signatures, while others were outright refused by presiding officers.

Despite repeated requests from the NDC for verifiable proof, these were denied.

“NDC will not stand by while the will of the people of Ablekuma North is stolen through fraudulent means,” said a spokesperson for the NDC. “We demand a full, independent investigation into these serious irregularities, and we will ensure that justice is done.”

The NDC has expressed serious concerns regarding the High Court’s decision to allow the collation to continue without addressing the missing data.

The party has strongly condemned the actions of the EC and the NPP, alleging deliberate manipulation to favour the NPP.

The NDC is now calling for an independent investigation into the entire electoral process, insisting that the true will of the people of Ablekuma North be respected.