CODEO defends Ayawaso by-election report following EC criticism

The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers says that it stands by its report on last Thursday’s Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.

The report, which was released by the Coalition on January 31, the day of the polls, was rubbished by the Electoral Commission (EC)’s Chairperson Jean Mensa, who said that the by-election went on peacefully despite violence breaking out near a polling station in Bawaleshie.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Albert Arhin, CODEO stated that it “follows a strict protocol and has, thus, always taken great pains to ensure that its Close-Of-Poll Statement and other reports record and reflect only that which is factually and contemporaneously observed and documented by its assigned observers and team. CODEO does not rely on hearsay or uncorroborated third-party accounts.”

CODEO also denied the assertion that it had claimed the presence of stationed security officers disrupted the voting process.

“CODEO made no such attribution or linkage. CODEO’s main concerns regarding security arrangements for the by-election were explicitly stated as: the apparent lack of proper security coordination for the election; the heavy and intimidating presence of security personnel at various polling stations; the display of a lack of understanding of the electoral rules and regulations by some plain-clothed (“non-uniformed”) security personnel; and the presence of MASKED “security operatives” at some polling stations.”

Following the release of CODEO’s close-of-polls report, the EC rebuffed a number of the Coalition’s claims, stating the violence did not mar the by-election.

“The Commission put in place, adequate and efficient security measures to maintain law and order at all polling station. At the end of the by-election at the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, the Electoral Commission is pleased to announced that the conduct of the polls in all 137 polling stations was peaceful, smooth and orderly,” the EC said.

Source: citinewsroom.com