Election results can't be doctored - Afari-Gyan
The Electoral Commission has denied allegations that it has contracted an organisation to collate results on its behalf.
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It explained that the ballots are counted openly at the polling stations and the results are signed by agents of the parties, who are given copies of the signed results.
In a statement, EC Chairman, Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan said “the Commission’s attention has been drawn to allegations that it has engaged the services of a company to do electronic transmission and collation of results on its behalf”.
“We wish to state emphatically that no such engagement has been made, neither is the Commission doing electronic transmission of results”, the statement said.
The statement signed by Dr Afari-Gyan said, the the transmission of results to its Head Office follows a clearly laid down transparent process.
“The signed copies of the polling station results are sent physically to the constituency collation centres, where collation of results is done in the presence of agents of the parties,” the statement explained further.
It added that after the results had been collated, the party representatives sign and receive copies of the constituency results sheets, after which copies of the signed sheets are sent to the Regional Offices of the Commission, from where they are faxed directly to the Operations Room of the Commission.
“The public is informed that currently there are representatives of the parties in the Commission’s operations room who are receiving and checking the results before endorsing them by signing. Indeed, copies of the results are made for them before a copy is sent to the Chairman of the Commission for his signature”, it added.
It added that in some instances, party representatives in the operations room have called their agents in the constituencies to cross check the results before signing them.
The statement said the procedure for the transmission of election results to the operations room was therefore thoroughly transparent and does not lend itself to manipulation.
“The Commission wishes to reiterate that election results are signed and sent by fax and no company has been engaged for any such undertaking” the statement noted.
“We wish to assure the nation that we will continue to use the transparent and verifiable approach of transmitting results and further assure that no results can be manipulated”.