Martin Adjei-Mensah-Korsah, MP-elect for Techiman South
The Electoral Commission (EC) has directed members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), who feel aggrieved about the declared Techiman South parliamentary election results to consider a legal action.
Speaking to the media, Deputy Bono East Regional Director of the EC, Mr Anthony Nyame Baafi, said once the Techiman South Returning Officer had publicly declared the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, as the winner of the contest, nothing could be done about it by the EC.
According to him, it is only the court that can determine otherwise.
Dispute
The returning officer of the EC in Techiman South declared Mr Korsah as the winner in the December 7 parliamentary election.
Mr Korsah garnered 49,682, as against the NDC’s Christopher Baasongti Beyere’s 49,205 votes.
In the presidential election, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the NPP polled 48,268, while former President John Dramani Mahama of the NDC obtained 47,974 votes.
However, the declaration of the results in favour of the NPP’s candidate has been disputed by the NDC, with the opposition party insisting that the results were not officially declared by the Techiman South Returning Officer.
But the NPP has debunked the assertion and put out a video in which the returning officer is seen declaring the results, amidst confusion at the venue where the collation was done.
At a press conference in Accra, members of Mr Korsah’s campaign team were emphatic that their candidate had won the election, and showed pink sheets from the various polling centres to buttress their claim.
A former Municipal Chief Executive for Techiman, Mr Prince Donyina, said the leadership of the NDC in the constituency had, prior to the declaration of the results by the EC, informed their supporters through a local FM station that the NDC candidate, Mr Beyere, had won the poll.
A melee, which ensued during the collation of the results led to the death of two people, who were hit by stray bullets.
Meanwhile, a high-powered delegation of the NDC has since visited the Techiman South constituency, during which they met officials of the EC, as well as the Omanhene of the Techiman Traditional Area, Oseadeyor Akumfi Ameyaw IV.
A video circulating on social media has some NDC legal bigwigs asking the Techiman South Returning Officer to produce copies of the pink sheets for the NDC, a request the EC official declined.
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