Withdraw Supporters from Collation Centres- EC Orders NDC, NPP

The Electoral Commission (EC) has directed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to withdraw their supporters from collation centres and allow only the legally designated party agents to be present.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the EC addressed concerns about the disruption of parliamentary result collation, particularly in the Ablekuma North Constituency in the Greater Accra Region.

The Commission clarified that it had temporarily halted the collation process to ensure that the necessary legal and security frameworks were in place, in accordance with the requirements of the Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) 127.

The EC emphasized that political parties are required by law to send two agents to the collation centres, and that the collation should be conducted by the Returning Officer and other designated officials.

However, the Commission expressed concern over the growing presence of party supporters at these centres, where they have been engaging in disruptive and violent behaviour, including threatening staff, destroying property, and coercing officials into declaring results that do not align with the official documents, such as the Pink Sheets.

“Contrary to legal requirements, political party supporters have continued to besiege some collation centres, physically abuse our staff, and destroy property,” said Samuel Tetteh, the Deputy Director in charge of Operations. “These supporters have also been forcing our staff to declare results that are not reflected on the Pink Sheets.”

The EC also reported incidents of supporters vandalizing property, burning ballot papers and Pink Sheets, and obstructing the collation process in constituencies such as Dome Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, Tema Central, and Ayensuano.

The Commission strongly condemned these actions, questioning why critical election documents—necessary to verify the election results—were being destroyed.

“We call on the political parties to immediately withdraw their supporters from the collation centres,” Tetteh added. “We are working closely with security agencies and party leadership to ensure that the collation process follows the proper legal procedures.”

The Electoral Commission reassured the public that it remains committed to completing the collation process in the affected constituencies, including Ablekuma North, and emphasized that the legal framework will be upheld to ensure that the will of the voters is respected.

“We are confident that collation will resume in Ablekuma shortly, once the appropriate legal and security measures are restored,” Tetteh added.