The Electoral Commission (EC) has corrected the total valid votes put out during the declaration of 2020 presidential election results, on December 9.
EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa declared the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the President-elect based on a total of 13,433,573 valid voters instead of 13,119,460.
In a statement issued in Accra yesterday, the EC Chairperson explained that the initial figure (13,433,573) used, led to her declaration of 6,730, 587 for the NPP which is 51.302%.
Mrs Mensa made this revelation after concerns were raised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over inconsistencies in the numbers.
“The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission inadvertently used 13,433,573 as the total valid votes cast. The total valid votes cast is 13,119, 460,” the EC stated.
Mrs Mensa, however, indicated that the change of the total valid votes cast would not affect the percentage stated for each candidate.
“This does not change the percentages stated for each candidate and the declaration made by the Chairperson,” the statement indicated.
Mrs Mensa, on Wednesday declared President Akufo-Addo, as the winner of the December 7, 2020, presidential election.
She said President Akufo-Addo polled 6,730,413 votes, representing 51.595 per cent of total valid votes cast, ahead of his closest contender, former President John Dramani Mahama of the NDC, who garnered 6,214,889, representing 47.366 per cent of valid votes cast.
“By the power vested in me as the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana and the Returning Officer of the presidential election, it is my duty and honour to declare Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as president-elect of the Republic of Ghana,” Mrs Mensa said in Accra.
The 10 other presidential candidates managed 175,809 of valid votes cast representing a little over one per cent.
Mrs Mensa said the declaration of the result did not include that of the Techiman South Constituency in the Bono East Region, where 128,018 votes were expected because the results were being contested.
She explained that the vote gap between President-elect Akufo-Addo and former President Mahama made it mathematically impossible for the winner to change even if all the votes were added to that of the NDC’s candidate.
“Currently the election results we have declared exclude that of the Techiman South Constituency. The said election result is not ready because they are being contested as such collation has not been completed.”, Mrs Mensa said.
She said “It is important to know, however, that the difference between the total number of votes between the first and second candidate is 515, 524 votes. As a result, if we were to add all the 128, 018 votes to the results of the second candidate, it won’t change the outcome of the elections, hence our declaration of the 2020 presidential results without that of Techiman South.”
In total, 13,434,574 valid votes, representing 79 per cent of the over 17,027, 641 registered voters were cast, she said.
BY TIMES REPORTER
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