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The Tema Metropolitan Electoral Officer for the Electoral Commission (EC), Ofusehene Asante Manasseh, has claimed that he was pressured by influential National Democratic Congress (NDC) members to declare Ebi Bright the MP-elect for the Tema Central constituency after Saturday’s parliamentary elections.
According to Mr. Asante’s letter to Jean Mensa, the chairperson of the EC, he was forced to declare the outcome in favor of the NDC candidate because he and his staff were threatened by NDC leaders and their furious supporters. He has demanded the revocation of the declaration.
Mr. Asante claimed that NDC Deputy National Communications Officer Malik Basintale, Nelson Rockson Defeamekpor, the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, and other NDC supporters surrounded the collation center and placed pressure on him to declare Ebi Bright the winner.
“In fact, Rockson Defeamekpor kept threatening me throughout the collation process, and whenever I disagreed with him on a legal matter, one of their national executives, Basintale, began inciting their supporters, who had gathered and invaded the collation centre, chanting revolutionary songs,” Mr Asante explained.
He added that even after he was transported to the Tema Regional Police Command for protection, the threats persisted, even though police officers had been deployed to keep him safe.
He continued by saying, “Mr. Defeamekpor and Mr. Basintale drove their supporters to the police station and insisted that I declare Ebi Bright as the winner.”
Mr. Asante claimed that despite the fact that the results from two polling places had not yet been tallied, he was compelled to declare Ebi Bright the MP-elect due to the increasing pressure.
“My life, the lives of my officials, as well as those of the police and media, were at stake. I was forced to prioritise my safety over the legality,” he stated.
He added that Charles Forson, the candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), would have won by 55 votes if the results from the unreported polling places had been taken into account.
However, two polling station results are still pending, and their addition to the total results could alter the election’s outcome. Charles Forson, the NPP candidate, would win by a margin of 55 votes, he disclosed.
Since he feels he made the declaration illegally rather than Kwasi Brobbey, the constituency’s authorized returning officer, Mr. Asante has formally asked the EC Chairperson to revoke it.
According to reports, Ebi Bright won 18,539 votes following Saturday’s polls, while Forson of the NPP received 18,421 votes.
“The declaration made under duress cannot stand as it was not made by the authorised returning officer,” the statement claims.
Read the full statement below:
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
