The Deputy Commissioner and Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Tanko Rashid has raised critical concerns about the role and conduct of Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) in matters related to parliamentary election declarations and results validation in Ghana’s legal framework.
In a passionate address, he highlighted what he termed as breaches of established legal frameworks by the EC and accused the commission of overstepping its constitutional mandate.
Dr. Rashid emphasized the EC’s limited role in the parliamentary election process, citing Regulation 43(2) of CI 127. He stated;
“The commission shall, on receipt of the endorsed writ, publish in the gazette a notice stating the name of the person elected and the total number of votes for each candidate and inform the clerk of parliament.
“Their business is to receive the writs and gazette them. They have no business in interfering with the writ they have received. Once the coalition is done, they are to gazette and inform parliament. Now they are interfering in our arena and they don’t have that power.’’
Dr. Tanko Rashid Deputy Commissioner and Director of Elections and IT , National Democratic Congress (NDC)
Dr. Rashid criticized the EC for attempting to re-collate results. He charged;
“Once the coalition is done, you know who has won. Declare the winner. Declare the winner and gazette it. Whatever happens after that, if there’s a challenge, it should go to the high court.
“It doesn’t lie in their mouth as commissioners to constitute themselves into judges and determine whether the declaration was made under duress.”
Dr. Tanko Rashid Deputy Commissioner and Director of Elections and IT , National Democratic Congress (NDC)
He also stated that the EC’s lack of consistency undermines its credibility.
“What they are doing they are not principle. We must be principled with whatever we are doing? We are not in a jungle. This country is governed by law.’’
Dr. Tanko Rashid Deputy Commissioner and Director of Elections and IT , National Democratic Congress (NDC)
“If someone is involved in illegality, and security is not around to prevent it, what do you do? You prevent the person from committing such illegality,” he noted, defending the NDC’s actions in challenging the EC.
“We filed for a writ to stop the illegality they are doing. We filed another writ against the re-collation of five constituencies. If we were lawless, would we have gone to court?”
Dr. Tanko Rashid Deputy Commissioner and Director of Elections and IT , National Democratic Congress (NDC)
He dismissed the EC’s justification for recollecting results, arguing that the existing legal framework enshrined in the PNDC law 284, section 20 provides remedies for such situations.
Electoral Commission’s Role in 2020 Versus 2024
Dr. Rashid accused the EC of hypocrisy, drawing comparisons from its past stance. He recounted;
“What was terrible in 2020 when they wrote back to us and said they wouldn’t re-collate certain constituencies? You see, because the NPP was winning, they found no reason to do any re-collation. But now, suddenly, they are interested in re-collating results.’’
Dr. Tanko Rashid Deputy Commissioner and Director of Elections and IT , National Democratic Congress (NDC)
Dr. Rashid’s remarks highlight ongoing tensions and questions about the transparency, consistency, and impartiality of Ghana’s electoral process.
His call for adherence to legal frameworks underscores the need for all stakeholders, particularly the EC, to operate within their mandates to maintain public trust in the electoral system.
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