The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to conduct a rerun of the Ablekuma North parliamentary election in 19 polling stations, insisting the directive contradicts a High Court ruling issued earlier this year.

The EC announced last week that a rerun would take place on Friday, July 11, 2025, following months of dispute over uncollated results stemming from disruptions during the December 2024 general election. The incident led to the destruction of some original result sheets, prompting a legal challenge and protracted deliberations.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, NPP General Secretary, Mr Justin Kodua Frimpong, said the party would not participate in the rerun, arguing that the High Court’s decision on January 4 only instructed the EC to complete collation and declare the winner, not to organise fresh voting.

“The court never said go and do a rerun. It said go, collate, and declare,” Mr Frimpong stated firmly.

He also presented scanned copies of 281 official pink sheets, which claimed proved the NPP candidate, Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie, won by a margin of 414 votes.

According to Mr Frimpong, the pink sheets were signed by polling agents from both parties as well as presiding officers at the various polling stations.

Mr Frimpong also accused the EC of shifting its position. He cited comments made under oath by EC Deputy Commissioner, Dr Bossman Asare, who he claimed told Parliament that only three polling stations had unresolved results.

He described the decision to expand the rerun to 19 stations as inconsistent and disrespectful to the court’s directive.

“The EC is in contempt. They assured everyone that just three polling stations were outstanding. Now, without any proper explanation, they say it’s 19. This is unacceptable,” he added.

The EC had, in an earlier statement, explained that the decision to hold a rerun followed consultations with both the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The Deputy Chairman, Mr Samuel Tettey, stated that while scanned pink sheets from the 19 polling stations were approved by party agents, they had not been verified by the presiding officers at the time of collation.

“The 19 scanned polling station results used for the collation, though approved by agents of both political parties, were not verified by the presiding officers responsible for those polling stations,” Mr Tettey said.

He added that verifications have since been completed for other contested polling stations, and no rerun would be required in those areas.

The Ablekuma North controversy began in December 2024 when violence disrupted the collation process, resulting in the destruction of several original pink sheets. The EC’s initial decision to rely on scanned and duplicate sheets was contested by the NDC, which argued the approach lacked transparency.

With the rerun now scheduled for July 11, the EC has requested police presence at all affected polling stations to ensure order and public safety. The outcome is expected to bring closure to the constituency’s representation in Ghana’s 276-seat Parliament.