The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to conduct a rerun of parliamentary elections in 19 polling stations within the Ablekuma North Constituency, describing the move as shocking, unlawful, and arbitrary.
The EC, in a press statement dated Wednesday, July 2, announced that fresh elections would be held in the 19 polling stations on Friday, July 11, 2025.
This follows months of disagreement between the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the results of the 2024 parliamentary election in the constituency.
Addressing a news conference on Thursday, July 3, NPP General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, criticised the EC’s sudden U-turn, insisting the decision contradicts the Commission’s earlier stance.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the New Patriotic Party finds the Electoral Commission’s sudden U-TURN on Ablekuma North election dispute as not only shocking but also DISINGENUOUS and UNLAWFUL. The Party thus COMPLETELY REJECTS the decision of the Commission to rerun the polling station elections in the said 19 polling stations,” he stated.
Mr. Kodua explained that the EC had previously insisted only three polling stations had outstanding results to be collated to determine the winner and questioned why the Commission was now calling for a rerun in 19 polling stations.
“We wish to appeal to the EC to assert its authority under the Constitution and relevant laws and comply with the orders of the High Court to complete the collation of the results of the three(3) outstanding polling stations,” Mr. Kodua stressed.
According to the NPP, their candidate, Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh, won the election based on pink sheet records, polling 34,613 votes against the NDC’s 34,199 after results from all 281 polling stations were collated.
“No amount of arm-twisting can change this record as evidenced by the pink sheets. We have instructed our lawyers to proceed to court to challenge this unlawful and self-serving directive from the EC,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission has defended its decision, explaining that of the 37 disputed polling stations, results from 18 were verified and approved by presiding officers and party agents.
However, the remaining 19 lacked proper verification, necessitating the rerun.
The Ablekuma North Constituency has remained without a Member of Parliament since the December 2024 elections due to the unresolved dispute.
The EC has assured the public that adequate security measures, in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, will be in place to ensure a peaceful and credible rerun on July 11.