The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Elections and Research Officer in the Ablekuma North Constituency, Jones de Graft-Darkwa, has issued a blistering response to Presidential Advisor Dr. Valerie Sawyerr, accusing her of undermining the Electoral Commission’s (EC) independence and stoking political tension with her call for a partial rerun of the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Dr. Sawyerr, in a strongly worded public statement titled “The Saga of the Scanned Pink Sheets & Ablekuma North,” alleged that the EC compromised the integrity of the election by relying on scanned pink sheets purportedly submitted by the NPP, instead of original carbonated results forms. She described the situation as a “diabolic drama,” demanding immediate action from the Commission.
“No ground stomping, no walks from Timbuktu to Accra… will make what is wrong… right,” she declared, urging EC Chairperson Jean Mensa to “order a rerun at the sixty-two (62) polling stations… and stop wasting our time.”
But de Graft-Darkwa has hit back, describing the calls for a rerun as legally groundless and politically reckless.
“Let me state emphatically that any talk of a rerun in Ablekuma North, whether for the entire constituency or select polling stations, is completely without justification or constitutional basis,” he said in a statement released Friday, June 14.
He defended the Electoral Commission’s exclusive authority to conduct and conclude elections, warning that political interference from senior figures such as Dr. Sawyerr sets a perilous precedent.
“The recent comments from these high-ranking officials not only undermine that independence but also risk setting a dangerous precedent in which political pressure overrides the law and due process,” de Graft-Darkwa noted.
Despite voting taking place over six months ago, the EC has yet to declare the parliamentary results in Ablekuma North, citing lack of security as the reason for the delay in completing the collation process. De Graft-Darkwa called this delay unacceptable but rejected the idea of a rerun as a remedy.
“It is deeply troubling for anyone, especially government officials, to be calling for a rerun when the lawful process has not been concluded simply due to an apparent failure, or refusal, to guarantee the Commission the security it needs to operate,” he said.
“Ironically, any rerun (should one occur), would require even greater security arrangements. So why are these calls being made at all?”
He called on the Ghana Police Service and the Inspector-General of Police to provide the necessary security for the EC to complete the collation and declare the results without further political interference.
“The constituents of Ablekuma North have exercised their constitutional right to vote… it is not for politicians, regardless of their office, to decide whether an election should be rerun,” he asserted.
“This moment calls for leadership, not political gamesmanship. The EC must be allowed to assert its independence, complete the collation process, and declare the results without further delay. Anything less is a betrayal of our democracy.”
