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To God be all the glory, the great things he has done and the most important things he will do. On behalf of the Ghana Election Commission, I welcome you to a significant moment in our country’s history: the 2020 Presidential Election Results Statement. We had aimed to deliver the results 24 hours after the elections, but As the saying goes, man proposes, but God disposes.
We encountered some challenges, including unexpected rains that halted voting at some polling stations, leading to some delays along with the usual requests for recount at some polling stations. We are sorry for the anxiety caused and ask that you please bear with us. We hope that in the next elections we can live up to our schedule. I indicate that this is a historic election because it is the first time that Election Day has passed without major incidents and occurrences. Not surprisingly, the BBC described this year’s elections as “boring”, a testament to the smooth and uneventful process we witnessed yesterday.
As a Commission, we thank Almighty God for his faithfulness and for how far he has taken us. We recognize without a shadow of a doubt that we could not have come this far without Him. As Proverbs 21:31 says: “The horse is prepared for battle, but victory comes from God.” We remain eternally grateful and grateful to God for the victories he has achieved on our behalf.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is comforting to be before you today to declare the results of the 2020 general elections. We have come a long way. We begin this year with hope and promise, ready to reform and revise the core and critical aspects of our work, and the very system on which transparent and credible elections are based. Here, I am referring to our biometric voter management system. We put this process through a robust and rigorous procurement process, even then when, from the start, we faced strong opposition from within and from without.
As if that wasn’t enough, COVID-19 hit us when we least expected it. In the face of this, we stood firm, determined to hold credible, transparent and peaceful elections in Ghana. We persevered throughout the lockdown to establish robust and efficient systems and processes that will stand the test of time.
In hindsight, we used the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure to our advantage. We managed to reflect on our policies, systems and structures, and implement reforms within our institution, promoting competitive procurement processes, as well as efficient and transparent electoral processes.
This strategy involved our entire staff, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, burning the midnight oil to achieve the results we witness today. Our mantra was that while the country may be on lockdown, as a Commission we had to keep moving forward to achieve the enormous tasks that lie ahead.
And so distinguished ladies and gentlemen, here we are today. The results are obvious for all to see. In fact, hard work, determination, and focus, along with God’s grace, have paid off.
Today we have managed to reform our entire Biometric Voter Management System, acquiring and implementing robust equipment and devices, including Biometric Verification Devices, biometric registration kits, easy-to-use software to govern the entire voter registration and verification system. biometric, and a brand. -new data center, among others, all of which went through an international competitive bidding process.
Today, we can all be proud of a completely new biometric voter registry that reflects unique individuals who are eligible to vote. With determination and focus, we were able to prepare a Registry that registered seventeen million twenty-seven thousand six hundred forty-one (17,027,641) eligible voters in just 38 days in Ghana’s rainy season. Fortunately, the elections just ended did not witness problems of missing names, incorrect location of polling stations, among others.
Once again, we can be proud of the fact that, for the first time in our history, the election was funded without the help of donors. I can assure you that we put our resources to prudent use.
Furthermore, we can be proud of the fact that more than 95% of our acquisitions for the 2020 elections were made through an open and competitive bidding process rather than exclusive contracting and restricted bidding as was the case in the past. This certainly ensured good value for money in all of our processes. At the appropriate time, the Commission will share with you a report on its recruitment processes and the savings made to date.
We can also be proud of the fact that, for the first time in the Commission’s history, all of our processes from registration to Election Day were exposed to the public. Through the Let the Citizen Know initiative, we provide all citizens who cared to know, relevant and timely information on all our processes. Today, citizens have access to information on the number of people registered in the electoral roll, the number of registered male and female voters, the number of young and new voters, the number of voters who are persons with disabilities, etc.
Furthermore, today we can all be proud that, as Ghanaians, we went to the polls and cast our votes peacefully.
We can be proud that the technology implemented on Election Day worked effectively and efficiently. Voters across the country have witnessed a smooth and enjoyable experience at their respective polling stations. We should be proud that, in many cases, it took 3 to 5 minutes to verify and vote the average voter. We should be proud that the usual hassles and fights in polling stations, long lines and overcrowding did not exist.
We should be proud that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we all went to the polls with our safety guaranteed, as a result of the strict security protocols employed by the Commission.
And to crown it all, we must be proud that 48 hours after the elections, we have been able to declare the results of the 2020 presidential elections. With hard work, concentration, determination and, above all, the help of GOD, we can do all the things. In fact, we can!
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is important to note that we have achieved our successes as a result of the collective effort of the entire team, that is, the members of our Commission, our regional directors and directors, regional deputy directors and assistant directors, our District. Election Officials, our administrative, construction and mechanical personnel. We have all worked day and night to achieve our goals. To all the members of our team, I salute you. Ayekoo! We certainly couldn’t have been successful without you, and I congratulate you all.
To the dear citizens of the country, we thank you for believing in us and for walking this path with us. Your constructive feedback has helped strengthen our processes and our work and left us better now than when we started.
To our media partners, we thank you. You have been our gateway to citizenship and you have helped us bring the Commission to the citizens’ door. Thank you.
To the civil society organizations who believed in us and shared recommendations from thoughtful research and analysis, we thank you.
We also thank our election observers, both local and international, for their interest in ensuring that the entire electoral process is transparent, fair and credible. We congratulate the international observers who traveled to Ghana in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic to observe our elections. Your comments so far have been constructive and we look forward to receiving the full reports as they will certainly help us to strengthen our work and processes.
Now I will turn my attention to why we are all here.
The election was held in 38,622 polling stations across the country and in 275 electoral districts.
At the end of the transparent, fair, orderly, timely and peaceful presidential elections, the total of valid votes cast was 13 million 4 hundred 34 thousand 5 hundred 74. (13,434,574) Representing 79% of the total registered voters.
Allow me to present the results in the order of appearance on the 2020 presidential ballot.
1. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo of the New Patriotic Party obtained 6 million 7 hundred 30 thousand 4 hundred 13 (6,730,413) being 51.295% percent of the total valid votes cast
2. John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress obtained 6 million, 2 hundred 14 thousand, 8 hundred 89 (6,214,889) being 47.366% percent of the total valid votes cast
3. Christian Kwabena Andrews of the Ghana Union Movement obtained 105,565 (105,565) being 0.805% of the total valid votes cast.
4. Ivor Kobina Greenstreet of the People’s Party of the Conventions obtained 12 thousand 2 hundred 15 (12,215) being 0.093% percent of the total of valid votes cast
5. Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party obtained 5 thousand 5 hundred 75 (5,575) being 0.042% percent of the total valid votes cast
6. Henry Herbert Lartey of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) obtained 3,500 74 (3,574) being 0.027% percent of the total valid votes cast
7. Hassan Ayariga from All People’s Congress obtained 7 thousand 1 hundred 40 (7,140) being 0.054% percent of the total valid votes cast
8. Percival Kofi Akpaloo of the Liberal Party of Ghana obtained 7 thousand 6 hundred 90 (7,690) being 0.059% percent of the total valid votes cast
9. David Asibi Apasera of the Popular National Convention (PNC) obtained 10 thousand 8 hundred 87 (10,887) being 0.083% percent of the total valid votes cast
10. Brigitte Akosua Dzogbenuku of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) obtained 6 thousand 8 hundred 48 (6,848) being 0.052% percent of the total valid votes cast
11. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings of the National Democratic Party obtained 6 thousand 6 hundred 12 (6,612) being 0.50% of the total valid votes cast
12. Alfred Kwame Asiedu Walker, independent candidate, obtained 9,703 (9,703) being 0.074% percent of the total valid votes cast
Currently the electoral results that we have declared exclude that of the South Techiman Constituency, with a voter population of 1 hundred 28 thousand 18 (128,018). These electoral results are not ready because they are being questioned. As such, the collection is not complete. The difference between the total number of votes between the first and the second candidate is five hundred fifteen thousand five hundred twenty-four (515,524).
As a result, even if we add the one hundred 28 thousand 18 (128,018) to the results of the second candidate, it would not change the result of the presidential elections. Hence our 2020 results statement without Techiman South.
If we added the results from Techiman South Constituency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would get 50.8% of the votes and John Dramani Mahama would get 47.873% of the votes.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, on the basis of the previous election results and by the power that has been given to me as Chairman of the Ghana Election Commission and Returned Official from the presidential elections, it is my duty and an honor to declare Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo -Addo as President-elect of the Republic of Ghana:
May God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong. May peace reign.
