The Electoral Commission on the 31st December, 2024 has officially declared Madam Faustina Elikplim Akurugu of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as the Member of Parliament (MP- Elect) for Dome Kwabenya.
On December 21, during the collation process for the Dome Kwabenya constituency’s parliamentary election results, significant challenges arose due to outstanding polling station pink sheets. This resulted in an incomplete collation.
The Electoral Commission (EC) attempted to resolve the matter by reconvening on December 28 to finalize the collation. However, the issue persisted, as one critical pink sheet for the Abokobi Women’s Training Center remained missing.
“Unfortunately, although we came a long way, we were not able to complete it because there were 3 polling station pink sheets outstanding.”
Jean Mensa, EC Chairperson
The EC brought together representatives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to address the missing pink sheet issue.
According to the EC Chairperson, during the session, the NDC provided two of the missing pink sheets, verified by the EC staff. However, the pink sheet for the Abokobi Women’s Training Center could not be located by either parties. She added;
“It’s important to note that the parties also did not have any evidence, both NDC and NPP did not have any pink sheets to confirm what was written on the training sheet was legitimate and was accurate.’’
Jean Mensa, EC Chairperson
Moreover, the EC examined a “training pink sheet” presented by its officer but deemed it inappropriate since training sheets should not be used during official elections.
‘’So, in the view of the commission, and in the interest of fairness, the commission felt that it was proper to rerun the election for that particular polling station.’’
Jean Mensa, EC Chairperson
Both NDC and NPP agents participated in discussions surrounding this decision, with the NDC supporting the rerun. The NPP, however, advocated for a fresh collation of all polling stations.
To unravel how a training pink sheet came into play, the EC initiated a thorough investigation. They reached out to the presiding officer (PO) and polling agents for explanations.
According to the EC Chairperson, the PO claimed that she mistakenly used the training sheet to tally the results due to the absence of an official parliamentary pink sheet. she added;
“The presiding officer fled, and she says that the agents also dispersed and they all left. And so none of them had the results.”
Jean Mensa, EC Chairperson
However, with the rerun, both the NPP and NDC comported themselves, which allowed for a successful rerun.
This allowed the EC to finalize the collation process and verify the results as an accurate reflection of the voters’ will.
Jean Mensah reiterated the EC’s commitment to ensuring credible, transparent, and fair elections.
She acknowledged the arduous journey to finalizing the Dome Kwabenya results but expressed satisfaction with the conclusion. She reiterated;
“Ours is not to make anybody president. It is to ensure that our outcomes guarantee that the people’s choice is upheld.”
Jean Mensa, EC Chairperson
Official Declaration of Results, Dome Kwabenya
At this stage, the EC Chairperson then handed over proceedings to the returning officer to declare the final results.
The results revealed that Madam Faustina Elikplim Akurugu secured 50,967 votes, whereas Mike Oquaye Jnr pulled 50,669 votes . The total valid votes were 10,2782, and total rejected ballots were 624. To this effect, the EC official declared;
“With the power vested in me as the returning officer for the Dome Kwabeya constituency, and in the presence of the returning officer for the presidential election, I declare Madam Faustina Elikplim Akurugu as the MP-Elect for Dome Kwabenya.”
Returning Officer, EC
The declaration brought closure to a long and challenging electoral process, emphasizing the importance of transparency and accountability in Ghana’s democratic processes.
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