{"id":241362,"date":"2016-08-21T06:18:48","date_gmt":"2016-08-21T06:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=241362"},"modified":"2016-08-21T06:18:48","modified_gmt":"2016-08-21T06:18:48","slug":"we-cant-declare-wrong-results-ec-assures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/08\/we-cant-declare-wrong-results-ec-assures\/","title":{"rendered":"We can\u2019t declare wrong results \u2013 EC assures"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Electoral Commission (EC) has rejected results from a survey report which revealed that Ghanaians believe it \u00a0could announce wrong tallied results on Election Day.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Citi FM news analysis programme, The Big Issue<\/strong>, on Saturday, Head of Communications at the EC, Eric Kofi Dzakpasu insisted that it is practically impossible for such situation to happen.<\/p>\n

[contextly_sidebar id=”nGqA4L0EKsXTiImKgDDwmsbbNlIxtUaD”]\u201cIt\u2019s a system which is robust and it is so verifiable that it is practically impossible for any single individual or group to manipulate and change election results,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

A survey conducted by the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, revealed that though 63% of Ghanaians believe the EC will perform its duties neutrally, guided by law, almost half of the voter population believes that the commission will likely announce wrong vote tallies<\/strong><\/a><\/span> or switch election results.<\/p>\n

\u201c63 percent deem the prospect of their votes not being counted unlikely, but nearly a third remain skeptical, while a large minority (46%), believe it is very\/somewhat likely that the wrong vote tally would be announced,\u201d a release from the CDD added.<\/p>\n

But Mr. Dzakpasu said persons who uphold such perception \u201clack understanding of our system of voting and declaration of results.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue of some large minority of voters not sure we will tally the election results properly are something of concern and\u2026doesn\u2019t auger well for a credible election. This is because the majority of the Ghanaian public are majority of stakeholders and it is very important to understand and appreciate the processes involved in declaration of results so that we can all be on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Dzakpasu explained that the perception emanates from the low education of voters about the commission and electoral processes.<\/p>\n

He said, to this extent, the commission will liaise with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and other stakeholders to embark a massive voter education exercise in coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026The commission, NCCE, Information Service, and other major stakeholders has the responsibility to bridge that gap before the December elections,\u201d Mr. Dzakpasu added.<\/p>\n

Election petition<\/strong><\/p>\n

The EC’s position about not being able to declare wrong results comes on the back of the 2012 election petition case.<\/p>\n

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) challenged the results of the 2012 Presidential polls at the Supreme Court alleging the results were rigged to favour John Dramani Mahama.<\/p>\n

However, the Supreme Court after months of hearing the case declared President Mahama as the winner of the election.<\/p>\n

 
\nFollow the hashtag <\/em>#GhElection<\/strong>s on Social Media for election related stories <\/em><\/p>\n

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By: Godwin A. Allotey\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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Follow @AlloteyGodwin<\/a>
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