Ablekuma North Election: What You Need to Know About the Partial Rerun in the Disputed Constituency
YEN.com.gh looks at the key details ahead of the resolution of the last outstanding constituency result from the 2024 polls
The Ablekuma North constituency parliamentary election is finally set to be resolved over six months after it first started.
The results have been under dispute since the attempted collation of results after December 2024, with the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party at the centre of the tension.
The contentions between the two main parties concerned the credibility of some of the pink sheets, which included results from 37 polling stations.
Source: Facebook
The NDC claims the sheets provided by the NPP were not sufficient and insisted that the entire election be rerun in those 37 stations.
After multiple failed attempts to recollate the results, the Electoral Commission decided it would rerun the election in 19 out of the 37 polling stations.
Who are the candidates in Ablekuma North?
The NPP parliamentary candidate for Ablekuma North is Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh, while Ewurabena Aubyn is the NDC candidate.
Afriyieh confirmed her decision to contest in the upcoming parliamentary rerun despite the NPP leadership saying it would boycott the election. She unsuccessfully sued to stop the Electoral Commission (EC) from conducting the rerun.
In comments to YEN.com.gh on the election, pollster Musah Dankwah noted that Aubyn was heading to victory in the polls with 48.83% while Afriyieh had 48.61% of the vote.
Dankwah said he used a likely voters model.
"In the exit poll conducted on the election day, the poll showed that Ewurabena Aubyn likely won the race with 56%. Both polls have a margin of error of 3.5%."
However, the Electoral Commission data suggests that Afriyieh leads with 50.30% while Aubyn is on 49.70% of the vote.
Security arrangements for Ablekuma North election
The Accra Regional Police Command has given assurances to the public of its readiness to provide adequate security.
Police personnel will be deployed to all locations with polling centres to maintain peace, law and order throughout the process.
Source: Getty Images
Beyond securing polling stations, the police said they would monitor vehicular and pedestrian traffic around the voting areas.
It also said strategic barriers would also be mounted to prevent unauthorised access to polling centres.
The police administration appealed to the public to cooperate fully with security personnel, observe electoral rules.
The Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, also assured the public that there will be no military deployment in the constituency.
Ablekuma North election: Electoral Commission confident
The Electoral Commission has assured Ghanaians that the rerun of the parliamentary election in the Ablekuma North constituency will be credible.
Deputy Chairperson of the election body, Dr Bossman Asare, dismissed claims of political bias in its decision to rerun the parliamentary election.
Amid claims of the EC favouring the NDC with the rerun decision, he stated that the election management body would be independent in the matter.
“We state categorically that Ghana’s electoral management body is an independent body and will not be dictated to by any institution or any person. Our track record speaks for itself."
Ablekuma North's election history
Ablekuma North has been an NPP stronghold since its formation in 1996, winning most of the polls by over 60%.
Source: Getty Images
The NDC’s best performance in the election has been at around the 39% mark.
The NPP's best performance in the constituency was 66% in 2016, while its worst performance was back in 2008 with 57%.
The constituency doubles as the Ablekuma North Municipal Assembly and shares boundaries with the Ablekuma Central, Ablekuma West, Okaikwei North, Okaikwei Central, Okaikwei South, Anyaa Sowutuom, and Weija Gbawe Constituencies.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
