The aftermath of the Akwatia Constituency parliamentary election and the Nsawan Adoagyiri collation saw heightened tensions between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In a strongly worded statement, Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin accused the NDC of intentionally delaying the electoral process despite allegedly being aware of their loss after the Nsawam Adoagyiri electoral collation.
“For them, they are just frustrated parliamentary seats. They have actually compiled their results. It’s before them, and they are just frustrating the process, delaying the process.
They know they’ve lost, and now they are saying that they cannot find their pink sheets. So, they want to rely on the EC’s pink sheet. When a figure is mentioned, they now go crazy pretending they don’t have the pink sheet, and yet they have compared their result.’’
Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin Out- going Majority Leader
Afenyo-Markin urged the NDC to end such behavior. He emphasized;
“This is not democracy. You know you’ve lost, but you want to just frustrate the process when they’ve compared their result. When we compared our results and we knew that the presidential results were not in our favor, we conceded.”
Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin Out- going Majority Leader
Despite his frustrations, Afenyo-Markin emphasized the NPP’s commitment to patience and due process.
“We have all our pink sheets. We have scanned them also. We have soft copies. We have everything compiled. So, we have nothing to fear at all.’’
Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin Out- going Majority Leader
Re-collation Chaos at Tesano, NPP’s Akwatia Constituency Declaration
Meanwhile, the NPP’s Ernest Yaw Kumi, after being declared the winner of the Akwatia Constituency parliamentary seat by the EC, recounted the events leading up to his victory.
Speaking after the declaration, he highlighted the outcome based on the NPP’s coalition results, despite attempts by the NDC to disrupt the process.
“I was very confident. Right from Saturday, it was obvious from our coalition that we had won the results. Due to the violence that our brothers on the NDC side tried to characterize with the collation process, we were patient enough for the entire documents or electoral documents to be taken to the police armory.’’
Ernest Yaw Kumi Akwatia Constituency Parliamentary Candidate-elect
Yaw Kumi revealed that the EC had summoned all parties for the final collation of results but was surprised when NDC representatives failed to attend.
‘They said their party leadership has called them for a meeting in Accra, and they are not coming or they are not interested.”
Ernest Yaw Kumi Akwatia Constituency Parliamentary Candidate -elect
Despite the NDC’s absence, Kumi lauds the decision of the EC to proceed. He pointed;
“Whether you are present or not, you cannot obstruct the duties or the statutory function of the EC. So, the EC has to carry out its function, and I’m happy that the collated result of the EC matches what our party also had collated earlier on.”
Ernest Yaw Kumi Akwatia Constituency Parliamentary Candidate-elect
Yaw Kumi expressed gratitude to the electorate and pledged to represent the constituency effectively in Parliament.
“We are grateful to the electorate, and we are going to work hard for our people and represent the people of Akwatia as they desire.’’
Ernest Yaw Kumi Akwatia Constituency Parliamentary Candidate -elect
The election process in the Akwatia Constituency showcased the complexities of Ghana’s democratic system, with accusations and counter-accusations between the two major political parties.
Afenyo-Markin’s strong critique of the NDC’s conduct and Ernest Yaw Kumi’s recount of the collation process reflect the challenges in maintaining trust and order in electoral processes.
Despite the challenges and confusion, Ernest Yaw Kumi’s declaration as the Member of Parliament for Akwatia has become a significant milestone for the NPP, as they prepare to fulfill their mandate in the constituency.
READ ALSO; Davido’s ‘Assurance’ Music Video Hits 100M Views on YouTube
