EC Suspends and Resumes Collation of Ablekuma North Results Amid Tensions

Accra: The Electoral Commission (EC) has faced multiple interruptions while attempting to collate results for the Ablekuma North Constituency. Initially, the collation exercise was suspended to allow for the authentication of results from 20 polling stations. By 1:03 PM, only thirteen of the expected twenty presiding officers had arrived to authenticate the results, leading to a suspension of the recollation process. Discussions are ongoing among EC officers to determine the next steps.According to Ghana News Agency, the collation exercise resumed at 12:27 PM despite heightened tensions. The EC insisted on bringing the process to a conclusion, but to maintain order, security officers removed all individuals from the collation room, except for party agents, EC officials, parliamentary candidates, and journalists.Earlier, at 12:22 PM, the collation was briefly halted due to disagreements over the result sheets. NDC agents expressed dissatisfaction with the collation process, particularly opposing the use of scanned copies of the Statement of Results. They were adamant that they would not allow the collation to proceed with these scanned documents.Security personnel played a crucial role in maintaining order throughout the process. At 11:33 AM, they prevented a potential disruption by the NDC agents, who had only just arrived at the Collation Centre. The agents claimed they were unaware of the collation's resumption and demanded the exercise be restarted to ensure fairness and transparency.The EC had initially prepared to resume the re-collation process at 10:40 AM after suspending it on Sunday. The suspension was to allow for the verification of scanned copies of results from contentious polling stations. Twelve out of the twenty presiding officers required for this authentication had reported to the Greater Accra Region Collation Centre, prompting the EC to summon them to assist in the process.