Lower Manya Parliamentary Stand-Off: Teddy Demands Recount

Parliamentary candidate on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party in the Lower Manya Krobo constituency of the Eastern Region, Mr. Samuel Ayertey Nuettey, has refused to accept defeat in the just ended parliamentary elections. Mr. Ayertey who declared himself the victor of the polls and took to the streets of the municipality to celebrate his supposed victory with his supporters is citing what the party refers to as some irregularities in the just ended exercise to reject the results declared by the local electoral commission.

Mr. Ayertey secured 19383 votes, 327 votes less than that of the incumbent, Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi who garnered 19710 votes. The other contestant, Emmanuel Okley Foster who contested on the ticket of the CPP managed some 535 votes to place a distant third.

In the presidential contest, John Dramani Mahama secured 22335 ahead of his closest contender, Nana Akuffo Addo who had 16682. Other results were Ivor greenstreet, CPP, 104; Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, 32; Papa Kwasi Nduom, PPP, 290; Edward Mahama, PNC, 37 and Joseph Osei Yeboah, Independent candidate with 20 votes.

It took the intervention of both anti-riot police and military deployment to forstall the possibility of disturbances as angry and incensed NPP supporters charged and cursed at electoral officers who were collating the results at the premises of the Lower Manya Krobo municipal assembly.

Deputy constituency organizer of the NPP in the constituency, Mr. Philip Batsa tells Rite news that the party suspected a sinister connivance between the electoral commission and the NDC to deny their candidate his deserved victory.

This follows the ‘disappearance’ of six presiding members and their pink sheets whose whereabouts could not be determined in the middle of the collation exercise. The unusual disappearance of the six officers was later resolved when one of them was traced to his house and brought back to account for his work. The others who had hitherto also gone AWOL later resurfaced with the pink sheets stuck firmly in their armpits.

Mr. Ayertey who was obviously in a comfortable lead before the six missing results appeared and consequently changed the verdict in Mr. Terlabi’s favour, suspected foul play. According to them, what happened was a well-planned orchestration between the National Democratic Congress and the EC to deliberately hold onto the outstanding results in the case their candidate won, so as to have the chance to massage the figures against him.

Officials of the electoral commission in an interview with Rite news who denied the charges to Rite news maintained that even though the six presiding members went home with the results from their polling stations, the figures were never tampered with. According to them, the figures on the ‘disappeared’ pink sheets marched those submitted by the parties’ respective agents when the presiding officers eventually showed up.

The EC wondered why Mr. Samuel Ayertey refused to sign a complaint form to state his claims but rather stuck to his stance of not signing the results. It explained however, that the NPP’s refusal to sign the results does not in anyway invalidate what the commission has.

But responding to the issues, the NPP candidate said his party would accept the results only after a recount. According to him, there was a possibility of the results turning in his favour and that he will only sign after this is done. He explained to Rite news that he was speaking to his lawyer on his next line of action.

Source: ritefmonline.org