Kumasi: The Elections Dispute Adjudication Committee (EDAC) of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has directed a re-run of the Ashanti Regional Chairperson election within 14 working days, citing irregularities that may have affected the outcome of the June 30, 2025 poll. The decision follows a petition challenging the eligibility of five of the voters in the region.
According to Ghana News Agency, in a press release issued on Thursday, July 24, the Committee stated that after examining the petition and the responses of all parties involved, it determined that a fresh poll was necessary to uphold the integrity and fairness of the Association's electoral process. A key factor influencing the Committee's ruling was the extremely narrow margin by which the election was decided, with just one vote between the two candidates.
The Committee cited the generation of the supplementary voter list, comprising the five voters, on the day of the election as one of the irregularities. This list included one registered voter from the Greater Accra Region who was allowed to cast a ballot in the Ashanti Region. The Committee emphasized that to restore the confidence of members and ensure that the electoral process reflects the true will of the Association in the Ashanti Region, a re-run has been deemed the most fair and just course of action.
The Committee's decision highlighted critical irregularities that occurred before and during the elections, including the failure to adhere to some GJA constitutional provisions, which led to the creation of a supplementary list on the day of elections. In response, the Committee directed that the GJA Elections Committee re-conduct the Ashanti Regional elections within 14 working days from the date of the announcement. It also mandated that a full list of eligible voters be published in the national dailies and made available to all contestants at least three clear working days before the election, with no supplementary list to be created for the re-run.
The Committee called on all members to take a keen interest in the implementation of these directives to safeguard the credibility of the process. A full report detailing the Committee's findings, rationale, and recommendations will be submitted to the GJA Secretariat and made publicly available in due course. The EDAC includes Ms Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho as Secretary and Mr Benjamin Bano-Bioh as Technical Advisor.
Previously, on July 9, the Committee suspended the swearing-in of the Ashanti Regional executives, initially scheduled for July 11, pending the outcome of the re-run. In the original election held on June 30, Mr Kofi Adu Domfeh, a journalist with the Multimedia Group, polled 16 votes, narrowly beating Ms Georgina Ama Ankomah, the incumbent Ashanti Regional Secretary of the GJA, who garnered 15 votes. The petition contesting the outcome was filed shortly after the results were declared.
