Patrick Boakye Yiadom Confirmed Winner of Obuasi East Seat After Re-Collation

The declaration of the parliamentary election results for the Obuasi East constituency a second time has retained Patrick Boakye Yiadom of the New Patriotic Party NPP as the winner. Boakye Yiadom was able to hold on to the seat by minimum of 19 votes after a tedious re-counting process at the Greater Accra Electoral Commission (EC) Office.

This re-collation exercise forms part of other measures undertaken by the EC to deal with electoral disputes in nine constituencies, which is in the bid to make the electoral process in Ghana transparent and credible.

Final Tally in Obuasi East

The EC declared Patrick Boakye Yiadom of the NPP winner with 18,558 votes against Samuel Aboagye of NDC who polled 18, 539 votes only. An independent candidate, Adjei Owusu Afriyie only managed to poll the 424 votes, which is some distance behind the main contenders.

This re‘counting’ was due largely to concerns of process compromize during the first manual counting. To this end, the EC’s attempt to comprehensively deal with these concerns is an indication of appreciation of accuracy and fairness when it comes to electoral system.

While transparency was the main theme of the first summit, the imperative of electoral integrity was the unifying theme of the second.

When interacting at the GREAECO the officials urged that openness was key in repairing damage done and regaining the confidence of the public on the democratic process. Through re openings in the disputed electoral areas, the EC believes they will be able to solve any electoral disputes while exercising the political stakeholders and the public.

There has been anxiety all along the process with political members present constantly observing the entire process. All the parties were informed that the EC is neutral in the process and after reaffirming their position on compliance with electoral laws and procedures aimed at achieving a sound result.

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Heavy Security Presence

Due to the increased political risk associated with the re -collation exercise, security personnel accompanied by armed personnel carriers surrounded the EC’s Greater Accra Regional Office. A police force in collaboration with the military was on hand to provide security in order that the process that was to be conducted was done in a safe and orderly manner.

The deployment signifies measures taken to ensure the protection of the electoral process and to ensure that no incidences of disruption of the same occurs are prevented.

The narrow breech poses broader questions about the future of the electoral process itself, of minority representation in the multi-party system.

Obuasi East is one out of nine constituencies re-collated today. Issues about initial results bring in the aspect of competition within the Ghana parliamentary elections and negative factors involved when conducting closely fought elections.

The fact that the EC’s approach to dealing with these disputes is setting a tone for any future elections makes it very important to analyze. From compliance with the directives of the judiciary to the showing its commitment in efforts towards conducting robust re-collation processes, the Commission actively supports the building of Ghana’s democratic structures.

Outcomes of the remaining eight constituencies, such as Nsawam-Adoagyiri of eastern region, Dome-Kwabenye and Tema central of greater Accra region and Techiman South of Bono East region is expected to be released later today. These outcomes will give more lights on the structure of the parliament and the relation of power between the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress.

A Closely Watched Race

A look at the percentage of the total votes cast in the just ended parliamentary primaries in Obuasi East expose the high level of rivalry between NPP and NDC. Patrick Boakye Yiadom should be attributed to his campaign and the backing he received from his electorate. Nonetheless, the close margin is due to the nature of democracy in Ghana and the level of for political polarisation.

While for Samuel Aboagye and the NDC it may be a defeat, it also tells the party that there is no reason to stop voting, or campaigning and listen to the voters’ concerns in subsequent elections.

Building Confidence In Electoral Systems

Recall procedure is also clear of significant purposes of openness and responsibility in democratic framework. By handling anomalies and guaranteeing Ghanas correct tally the EC re-asserts its self as an impartial body overseeing Ghana’s electoral processes.

With time the disputes will continue to enhance future electoral reforms in Ghana because as the democracy of the country also matures, people should have confidence in the system.

The case of Patrick Boakye Yiadom who won the recent parliamentary seat for the Obuasi East constituency after the re-opening of spoiled votes shows how electrify is cut throat and the significance of electoral integrity.

Since there are more constituencies with outstanding results, attention is still on the preservation of the fairness of the remaining cases in the system and the general electoral process. Indeed, how the EC deals with these matters will indeed seal people’s perception of Ghana’s democracy in the years ahead.