The Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) is calling on the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that results from all polling stations are published before officially declaring the final results of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Recent electoral cycles in Ghana have seen numerous petitions at the Supreme Court, alleging irregularities and faulty processes at polling stations. The EC faced criticism in the 2020 elections after declaring the results twice due to discrepancies in tallying.

IDEG is urging the EC to address these issues by publishing detailed polling station results on its website.

Senior Research Fellow at IDEG, Kwesi Jonah, emphasized that despite Ghana’s ranking as the sixth most stable democracy in Africa, these steps are crucial for bolstering the country’s democratic integrity.

“We recognize there are weaknesses in our democratic processes, particularly in the electoral sphere,” Jonah stated.

“The European Union, which has observed Ghanaian elections since 2012, has repeatedly recommended reforms to enhance our democratic system and avoid regression.”

Jonah stressed that publishing results from each polling station would address concerns of election rigging and ensure transparency.

“By making these results available online, we prevent any claims of missing or tampered results. Political parties have agents at every polling station for both presidential and parliamentary elections, so they should have access to these results.”

In response to these concerns, the Electoral Commission is implementing various reforms. Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, the Director of Training for the EC, acknowledged these recommendations but also emphasized that political parties need to accept the election results as declared.

The move by IDEG aims to fortify electoral transparency and mitigate disputes, ensuring that the upcoming elections are conducted with greater accountability and public trust.