The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has strongly condemned political parties for encouraging their supporters to invade collation centres after polls closed on Saturday, December 7.

Speaking on JoyNews' Newsfile, the Project Manager, Senior Researcher and Analyst at CODEO, Rhoda Osei Afful, stressed that securing collation centres is crucial for ensuring the integrity of the 2024 elections.

She pointed out that these centres are carefully located with security arrangements in place to prevent disruptions and that incidents of supporter interference have, in some cases, delayed the collation and subsequent declaration of winners.

The Senior Analyst raised questions about how political parties are engaging with the Electoral Commission (EC) and other stakeholders, urging them to focus on transparency and trust-building. “The bottom line is that we must deepen trust and transparency throughout the process. If we fail to do this, everything will be undermined,” she said firmly

Madam Osei-Afful highlighted several proposals aimed at enhancing transparency. She asked, “What measures are you implementing to ensure transparency for your electorate? If physical presence at collation centres is limited, what alternatives will you put in place to track results?” These questions speak directly to the need for political parties to take responsibility for creating a transparent system that doesn’t rely on confrontational tactics.

A key issue discussed was the publication of polling station results. Madam Osei-Afful firmly believes that the EC should release results from individual polling stations. This, she argues, would decentralize the process and help reduce the undue focus on collation centres. “If people can access results from polling stations directly, they can verify the figures and make their own calculations, let them be” she noted. This shift towards greater accessibility would allow citizens to take ownership of the results and reduce tensions during the final collation phase.

She also stressed that compiling results from polling stations within a constituency is a manageable task. However, she warned that achieving this requires full cooperation from all parties. “It would be a mistake to focus solely on the EC and ignore the role of political parties in making the process transparent,” she said, adding that all stakeholders must work together to ensure credibility.

Addressing the ongoing issue of supporter interference at collation centres, Madam Osei-Afful expressed her firm opposition to political parties encouraging such disruptions. “This is not the right approach,” she stated. “While parties and candidates may have valid concerns, encouraging disruptive behaviour is not the solution. It only creates further problems” she pointed out.

She noted that agents from participating political parties are typically present at collation centres to monitor the process. “If there are concerns, these agents should address them through proper channels, not by rallying supporters to create chaos,” she added.

In conclusion, Madam Osei-Afful called for constructive dialogue between political parties, the EC, and other stakeholders to ensure a fair and transparent election.

She stressed that the focus must remain on securing the process and building trust, rather than fostering a chaotic environment that undermines the integrity of the election.