CODEO ACCEPTS EC VERDICT

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday December 11, 2012

The Coalition for Domestic Observers (CODEO) says the results released by the Electoral Commission (EC), declaring John Dramani Mahama as President-elect is consistent with the observers’ tabulation of the results of last crucial Friday’s exercise.

In spite of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) claim that they have evidence that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) colluded with some election officials to fix the results in favour of President Mahama, CODEO thinks otherwise and urges all the contestants to accept the results in good faith.

Eminent jurist, Professor Justice V.C.R.A.C Crabbe, co-chair of CODEO reading CODEO’s statement on the election said “Based on the finding of our Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT), CODEO can confidently assure all political contestants and the public that the official results announced by the EC accurately reflect the ballots cast by voters at all the designated polling stations over the two days of voting.”

He said CODEO used the advanced and scientific election observation technique that enabled election observers at various polling stations to record, transmit, in real-time, information about the conduct of the opening of the polls, voting and official count vote processes to a central observation point using text messaging.

He said the CODEO findings were based on information received from 1,492 PVT Observers located in all constituencies and by 9 pm on Saturday December 8, they were in a position to “verify the official results upon the official results upon announcement by the EC.”

Justice Crabbe said that the CODEO PVT estimate put 51.38 percent as against EC’s 50.70 while they put Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the NPP at 47.17 percent as against 47.74 percent from the EC.

“This gives CODEO the confidence that the results of the 2012 presidential polls declared by the EC are generally an accurate reflection of how Ghanaians voted in the December, 7 polls. 

Accordingly, CODEO advises the presidential election contestants and their supporters as well as the general public to place confidence in the EC’s official presidential election results.”

He said CODEO is reiterating its earlier call on the need for the political parties to take adequate measures to bridge political polarization that charactorised the 2012 election campaign especially between NDC and the NPP to reduce the tendency for winner takes all politics.

Professor Miranda Greenstreet, Co-Chair of CODEO defended the figures of the observers and said that they followed the electoral rules in releasing their results.

When asked if they took into consideration the claims by the NPP that there were discrepancies in the results released by the EC, she said “It is not our business to compare the results compiled by the parties. We only crosscheck from the EC to ensure everything is consistent with what we have.”

Professor Greenstreet said that it was within the purview of the NPP to seek legal redress and Justice Crabbe added that such a legal action should come in the form of petition if they (NPP) suspected that the process was flawed.

Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, a member of CODEO and head of Centre for Democratic Development Ghana (CDD) said “CODEO is responsible for the figure they have put out and we believe the EC’s result is similar to what we have.”