RICHARD Akuoko Adiyia, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ahafo Ano North Constituency and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the area, is brimming with rage over the results of the polls in his constituency, claiming he has been robbed and will go to court for redress.
He insisted the results of the polls in which the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Adusei Akwasi, was adjudged the winner, was characterized by fraud and gross inconsistencies and so, he would not accept the results.
The NDC candidate, according to the results released by the Electoral Commission (EC), amassed 18,841 of the total votes cast to beat Hon. Adiyia, the incumbent MP who had 18,481.
The NPP candidate insisted that some officials of the EC and some of his polling agents were influenced to manipulate the figures in favour of the NDC candidate and that, the EC should re-count the ballots cast.
Hon. Adiyia said he has already petitioned the EC at its headquarters in Kumasi to re-count the ballot to tally with the number recorded by the verification machine as soon as possible.
He vowed that if the EC failed to heed his pressing demand, it would result in court action, saying “I have been robbed and I am prepared to go to court to seek redress.”
Recounting what happened, he said, the manipulation by the EC and some of his polling agents to favour the NDC candidate occurred in about seven polling stations and the coalition centre.
According to the angry MP, the said manipulation which aided the NDC candidate to win the elections occurred at polling centres like Addaekrom and Akwasiase Zongo.
For instance, he said, at Addaekrom he got 74 of the total ballot cast; but surprisingly, he was given zero at the end of the polls, adding that at Akwasiase Zongo the ballot counted were more than what was given by the verification machine.
These and other malfeasances which happened at the various polling centres through the supervision of some EC officials and his party agents who were bought by the NDC, led to his defeat.
Interestingly Hon. Adiyia stated that when he detected the rot at Addaekrom where he was given zero even when he had had 74 of the votes, the EC officials immediately corrected the anomaly, saying it was a genuine mishap.
He expressed strong doubts about the neutrality of the EC in the Ahafo Ano North Constituency polls, stressing that other information he got later indicated there were several rots at most of the polling stations in favour of the NDC during the polls.
Hon. Adiyia, who sounded irritated, noted that he was expecting the EC to address his complaint as early as possible for peace to prevail, warning that any failure on the part of the EC to address his complaint would result in court action.
He insisted that he and his party, the NPP, were more popular than the NDC and its candidate in the area; therefore if the ballots were re-counted to tally with what the verification machine recorded, he would be adjudged the winner of the polls.
Hon. Adiyia admonished his numerous supporters who are incensed about the lapses that occurred during the polls resulting in then NDC candidate winning, to exercise restraint and not take the law into their hands for the sake of peace.
He however assured them that he would do everything within his power—including going to court to put injunction on the results—to ensure the right thing was done.
Source: I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi
| Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
