Ablekuma North election rerun: Why are you afraid? – Mahama Ayariga mocks Minority

Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has pushed back against the Minority’s objections to the planned rerun of parliamentary elections in selected polling stations within the Ablekuma North constituency.

He argued that the Minority’s stance suggests a reluctance to embrace a transparent electoral process if the rerun goes ahead.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on July 3, 2025, Ayariga questioned the basis for the Minority’s opposition, especially after the Electoral Commission identified that some pink sheets used in the collation of results were not signed or validated by presiding officers, prompting the need for a rerun.

“And if the scanned pink sheets were not verified by their [EC] own presiding officers, on what basis should that be used? That is why they are calling for a rerun of those 19 polling stations. I don’t know why you are afraid. Why are you afraid?” he asked.

Ayariga, who also serves as MP for Bawku Central, urged that the EC’s decision should not be turned into a political matter.

He also dismissed suggestions from the Minority that the Electoral Commission was being pressured to call for a rerun, describing such claims as baseless.

“So, please let us not try to politicize this and say that because recently the national chairman of one political party made a statement that the EC is intimidated. No, it’s just fair and reasonable that if their own officers did not verify those pink sheets, they should rerun those polling stations,” he said.

This follows the NPP’s rejection of the EC’s decision to rerun the election in 19 polling stations within Ablekuma North.

The EC maintains that results from these stations were used in the collation process without proper validation from presiding officers. However, the NPP insists that the alleged irregularities are not enough to justify a rerun.

The new date for the rerun is set for Friday, July 11, 2025.