The Peoples National Convention (PNC) has backed the lawsuit filed by a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr. Kwame Amoako Tuffuor and two others seeking a Supreme Court order to compel the Electoral Commission to announce results of special voting on the same day of the exercise.
The trio, which include Benjamin Arthur and Adreba Abrefa Damoah have argued that section 23 of C.I. 94, the law which regulates the conduct of the December elections, is inconsistent with Article 49 of the 1992 constitution.
[contextly_sidebar id=”t2fsH0uRNIrX2PbpaMFgcGUCG4vWtPfj”]In a Citi News interview, the General Secretary of the PNC, Atik Mohammed, insisted that the votes must be counted immediately in the name of transparency.
He however added that the results need not be declared on the day of the special voting.
“We ought to know how many people cast their ballots and how many of them voted for party A or B however, we should not declare on that day. Results should be giving o the respective agents who are there to monitor the voting.”
“Political parties must be told not to announce these votes for anybody because of the possible implications,” he added.
Mr. Mohamed also said that the early counting would be necessary as, “there is always the suspicion that something might have happened to these votes causing a changing the eventual outcome and so on and so forth.”
Proper interpretation needed from court
The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has also underscored the need for the court to rule on the case as soon as possible to bring closure on the electoral processes on the day of Special Voting.
The Director of Communications of the CPP, Kadir Abdul Rauf Issifu, maintained that, “the issue should be taken to the court and we should hear the pronouncement of the determination on the court on the issue.”
Mr. Issifu added that, “if we are going leave it to ordinary interpretation and analysis of people who are just laymen sometimes it may create confusion so we as a party suggest that the Supreme Court should nominate a quick determination on this matter.”
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana