Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin is the Minority Leader in Parliament

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, has condemned the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to hold a rerun of the Ablekuma North parliamentary election, describing the move as “unfair” and “unjust.”

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, July 3, 2025, Afenyo-Markin expressed concern over the EC’s sudden and unexplained reversal on the electoral process.

“Yesterday, we woke up to a surprise announcement by the Electoral Commission. The Commission informed the nation that there would be a rerun of the elections on July 11, 2025 and they listed polling stations where these elections would take place,” he said.

The Minority Leader challenged the EC’s integrity, referencing the Commission’s own earlier statements.

“When the Mandamus order was granted by the courts and the EC was in the process of finalising the collation amid disturbances, they themselves issued a public statement and addressed the press, telling the people of Ghana that only three polling stations remained to finalise the collation process and enable them to declare the results,” he noted.

He also pointed out that the EC had previously requested police protection to complete the collation and questioned what had changed.

“Not long after that, they wrote to the Ghana Police Service requesting security. A member of this House filed an urgent question, which compelled the EC to appear before Parliament. The Deputy Chair, Dr Bossman, sitting in for his boss, told us that all they needed was security to finish collation at the three polling stations. I ask, what has changed? Mr. Speaker, we must be careful how we manage our democracy,” he remarked.

Recalling a previous electoral incident, he said, “Today, we have a member in this chamber from Dome/Kwabenya because, when only a few polling stations were left, the EC relied on tally cards. Michael Oquaye Jnr. protested, but he did so without violence. He did not storm the EC collation centre with his constituents. He expressed his disagreement in a civil manner.”

Afenyo-Markin further questioned the EC’s independence.

“It is unfair. It is unjust. Is it the case, and I don't want to believe it is, that recent public comments by some senior politicians are forcing the EC to act to safeguard their positions? Are they succumbing to the whims and caprices of certain extremists or hardliners? It is not fair. Maybe today this decision benefits some people, but tomorrow it may not.”

He urged Parliament to hold the EC accountable.

“I would humbly plead with my colleague opposite to schedule the EC to appear before us. We just welcomed Prime Minister Modi, who commended us on our democratic strides. We must not take these democratic gains for granted. Many countries in our sub-region wish they were Ghana, but they lost their way because they failed to protect their institutions and now they are paying dearly for it."

“Let’s not find ourselves saying ‘had I known.’ The EC must come to this House and brief us on why, despite their earlier clear position, they have now changed course. We must not allow this to pass without explanation. Mr. Speaker, I expect that next week, the EC will be scheduled to appear and provide answers.”

On Thursday, June 19, 2025, the EC had stated that it was not yet at the point of declaring the election inconclusive.

“For Ablekuma North, we have not reached the point where we can say we do not have results. When we try and cannot obtain the results, then we will consider a rerun. A rerun is a last option,” the EC said at the time.

However, on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, the EC announced it would rerun the Ablekuma North parliamentary election in 19 out of 37 polling stations on Friday, July 11, 2025.

According to the Commission, the decision followed extensive consultations with the two major political parties.

The EC said this meeting was a follow-up to an earlier engagement held on June 12, where both parties presented their positions regarding the disputed parliamentary seat.

Both parties reportedly maintained their initial positions from the previous meeting.

The Ablekuma North seat is being contested by Ewurabena Aubynn of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Ana Akua Owusu Afriyie of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

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