Ablekuma North Collation Delayed Over Pending Legal Advice – EC
The Electoral Commission says security support for final collation is on hold until legal advice is received from the Attorney General.
- EC says Ablekuma North collation delayed due to pending legal advice from the Attorney General
- Police have withheld security support, citing a related Supreme Court case
- Commission insists no injunction exists and urges prompt legal clarity to proceed
The Electoral Commission (EC) has revealed that the ongoing delay in finalizing the parliamentary election collation for the Ablekuma North Constituency is due to the absence of legal guidance from the Attorney General’s Department.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, June 19, Deputy EC Chairperson Dr. Bossman Asare explained that although the Commission has made consistent efforts to complete the collation process, progress has stalled due to a lack of security support.
This support, he noted, hinges on legal clarity from Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dominic Ayine.
He detailed that on March 28, the EC formally requested assistance from the Ghana Police Service regarding three outstanding polling station results and proposed a meeting to set a date for collation. Despite scheduling a meeting on April 10, the process was further delayed as the Inspector General of Police was unavailable due to a trip to Bawku.
The EC made another attempt by writing to the Election Security Taskforce on May 2, requesting a meeting on May 8. At this meeting, plans were made to finalize the collation on May 15 at the EC’s old quarters.
However, just two days before the scheduled collation, the Police informed the EC of a pending case before the Supreme Court concerning the Ablekuma North elections. Due to this legal development, the Police declined to provide security, citing the risk of contempt of court.
In response, the EC wrote on May 15 to both the Ghana Police Service and National Security Taskforce, clarifying that there was no injunction preventing them from proceeding with collation. They requested protection and proposed a follow-up meeting on May 16 to reschedule the process.
Despite these follow-ups, the Police informed the EC that the matter had been referred to the Attorney General for legal advice. Until that advice is received, the National Security Taskforce has opted to withhold further action.
Dr. Asare concluded that although the Commission has been actively engaging with the Police, they have yet to receive any definitive legal opinion from the Attorney General’s Office to move forward.
