The Electoral Commission has indicated that it will be unable to honor its 24-hour timeline for declaring the presidential election results.
According to a statement by the EC, the commission has extended the timeline it had scheduled to announce the results to a yet to be communicated timeline. The extension, the statement explained, is to ensure the accuracy of the results collated at the Constituency and Regional Collation Centers nationwide.
“The Electoral Commission informs the general public that to ensure that the collation of results at the Constituency and Regional Collation Centers are accurate, the EC extended its intended timeline for declaring the 2020 presidential election results. The new timeline will be communicated shortly,” it said in the statement.
While touting the transparency, fairness and integrity of the electoral processes, the EC urged the general public to remain calm it goes through vigorous processes, which is being monitored by the representatives of political parties and election observers in its bid, to protect the integrity of the outcome of the presidential polls.
“The Commission has continually reiterated that transparency, integrity and fairness are the yardstick by which it conducted the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
As such, to ensure that the declared presidential results are 100% accurate and reflective of the will of the people, the Commission entreats the public and stakeholders to exercise patience as the collation process continues in the presence of Political Party agents and election observers,” it added.
The electoral management body had, prior to the December 7 polls, given a 24-hour timeline to declare the presidential results.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), however, expressed doubts about the ability of the commission to meet the slated timeline arguing that the EC’s resolve to meet the 24-hour deadline could compromise the credibility of the election.
But the EC insisted that it had put in place efficient systems to ensure the credibility of the results which would be declared.
