The New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Friday expressed discomfort about electoral irregularities and fraud in the Banda constituency of the Bono Region in the just-ended presidential and parliamentary elections.
The Party petitioned the Electoral Commission (EC) to review the parliamentary results at the 44 polling stations in the constituency, which the Party said was a stronghold of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
At a news conference held at Abesim near Sunyani, the Party said “despite several isolated reports of electoral malpractices and irregularities in the Constituency, we decided not to resort to violence but channel our grievances through the appropriate quarters in the spirit of unity and social cohesion”.
Mr. Kwame Baffoe, the Bono Regional Chairman of the NPP, indicated calculations from the EC’s pink sheet available to the Party showed Mr. Joe Danquah, the NPP’s parliamentary candidate polled 8,246 votes to beat Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim, the incumbent NDC Member of Parliament (MP).
“Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim who has been fraudulently declared winner by the EC in the constituency gained 8,219. We suspected dubious play in the counting process at the polling stations and that was why our Party agent refused to sign the pink sheet”, Mr. Baffoe, popularly known as ‘Abronye’ alleged.
“President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo won the presidential elections in the constituency with 8,332 of the total valid vote cast whereas former President John Mahama of the NDC also trailed with 7,881 of the total valid vote cast”.
“The NPP’s Presidential candidate now President-Elect won the Presidential elections at Banda with a clear margin of 451 of valid votes cast and this margin points to the fact that, the people of Banda are happy with the good works of the President and the NPP and thus realized the need to vote 4More4 Nana to do more for them”, Mr. Baffoe said.
“Let me state that, the results declared by the Electoral Commission at the Banda Constituency in the parliamentary elections do not reflect the will and rights of the people of Banda and that, same is fraudulent, flawed, deceitful and not only a scam but a dubious sham”.
“Per figures on the EC’s pink sheet available to all stakeholders, the sub-totals of all the figures do not reflect the grand total stated on the pink sheet. A diligent calculation and collation of the results stated in all 44 polling stations in addition to the special voting on the pink sheet does not reflect the total sum of what the EC has on the same pink sheet”, he added.
“Let me state categorically that, due to this miscalculation and several irregularities that occurred at the strong hold of the NDC, our agent did not sign the final pink sheet thereby giving us a legitimate reason to reject the flawed results declared by the EC in the Banda constituency and any other subsequent declarations made thereof”.
Mr. Baffoe called on the EC to “review the results collated and come back to declare results which will reflect the true will and rights of the people to prevent any uncalled-for violence because where the will of the people are undermined, violence takes over”.
He cautioned that the Party in the region would not tolerate the use of “thugs, vagabonds and criminals in the constituency to intimidate the electoral officers and indigenes of the constituency”, saying “we shall use all necessary and available means to protect and defend our ballots”.
“The NPP will never resort to violence however, should the constituency be plunged into chaos, the EC will have itself to be blamed because they have prepared the grounds and platform for same”, the NPP party chairman said.
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