Former President John Mahama
It has
emerged that former Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson Charlotte Osei was on
the verge of breaching the terms of transmitting results of the 2016 elections,
which could have plunged the country into an avoidable strife.
Following
the claim by former President John Dramani Mahama that the EC used the manual
transmission of results and the electronic mode among other integrity charges,
there have been a number of responses, all of which have been anything but
inuring to the quality of the commission’s performance during the 2016 contest.
Both
directors of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and People’s National Convention
(PNC) have made revealing statements which suggest that Mrs. Osei nearly contravened
the terms of the agreement on how to transmit the results.
Faxed Transmission Not Electronic
Martin Adjei
Mensah Korsah, then Director of Elections of the NPP, in his reaction on Oman
FM, an Accra-based radio station yesterday, said that parties and the
EC agreed upon on the faxed mode of transmission.
That
Charlotte Osei sought to rely on the electronic mode of transmitting results
suggested that she was on her own and ready to renege on the terms of the
agreement on the subject, he said.
“We all
met on the issue of transmission of results, including the then Director Of
Elections of the EC Samuel Tettey, Ken Ofori-Atta, John Attafuah, former head of Airports Authority. We
agreed on the faxed mode of transmission,” he said.
Close to Elections
Mr.
Korsah recalled that the issue of the mode of transmission of the results cropped
up three weeks to elections, adding “we wrote to Mac Manu on the subject. I am
yet to come to terms about why she wanted to throw away the faxed system.”
He said
“we called for a discussion about the modalities for the transmission of
election. She told us about two companies she was going to engage for the
electronic transmission but we said no. We said the results must be declared at
the polling stations and transmitted from there with the appropriate
signatures.”
He added
that “we were shown a presentation on the electronic transmission, but we
settled upon the manual transmission. It was unclear the motive for the
electronic transmission as suggested by Charlotte Osei.”
Hacked Results Allegation
Turning
to the allegation of hacking of the electoral system, Mr. Korsah quizzed: “So
on what basis was Charlotte Osei going to announce the results of the polls?
She was on her own.”
Throwing Challenge
The 2013
elections ended in court after the NPP unearthed evidence to that effect that the
polls had been rigged.
He
charged the NDC to do same regarding the polls the former President is
discrediting.
“I
cannot understand them. They are just looking for an excuse. We shall hold former
President John Mahama to strict proof. The 2013 election and matters arising
from it have enabled us to improve upon elections in the country following the
court the appearances. We shall continue to strive for improvement in
subsequent elections,” he said.
No Collation
He said the
NDC did not collate the results of the 2016, something the party’s officials
attributed to the non-payment of their allowances.
“If
election results were not collated, how did you arrive at the conclusion that
the polls were rigged?” he queried.
NDC Will Lose
Mr.
Korsah said “the NDC will lose the 2020 elections because we are focused. They
will suffer another blow. We shall strive for the improvement of the electoral
system in the country.”
PNC’s Position
An
official member of PNC, Henry Haruna Asante, confirmed that the parties did not
agree on electronic transmission.
He
recalled how the figures the parties were recording during the receipt of
results were not tallying with that of Charlotte, saying “at a time we received
240 results but the EC had 92.”
He also
recalled Amadu Sule’s position that the EC was not bound by the suggestions of
the political parties.
He asked
that the issue raised by the former President rather belatedly be probed to
establish the truth.
Charlotte Osei
As
Ghanaians waited for the declaration of the presidential results by the
presiding officer, Charlotte Osei, she made the grim announcement that the
system of the EC had been compromised and that an instance of hacking could
have occurred.
That nonetheless, she assured the nation that the 2016 election results could not be manipulated.
By A.R. Gomda
The post Mahama Exposed Over Rigging Claim appeared first on DailyGuide Network.
