Pressure mounts on Jean Mensa to justify his 2020 presidential election results

General news for Friday, December 11, 2020

Source: The Herald

2020-12-11

Pressure is growing on the president of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa, to justify the result she declared for the presidential elections last Wednesday, because her figures were wrong.

A research institution called the Research and Grant Institute of Ghana (REGIG) insists that the declared results for the presidential elections are suspect and the EC must provide answers on the anomalies they have detected.

The independent, non-governmental organization dedicated to the generation, dissemination and utilization of research and data in Ghana and beyond, in a published analysis, said that the results and details provided by the EC are questionable.

“As researchers and data scientists, we are particular about the validity and reliability of the methodology used to obtain data. As we will use the data for research purposes, it is extremely important that we understand the data curation process, as well as the steps that are taken to rectify data anomalies. We call on the EC to take action to provide answers to the urgent issues contained in this press release as we work together to strengthen our democratic institutions with data and science. “

The EC issued a statement on Thursday admitting an error in the declared results.

The Electoral Commission has clarified that its president, Jean Mensa, “inadvertently used 13,433,573 as the total valid votes cast.”

“The total of valid votes cast is 13,119,460. This does not change the percentages indicated for each candidate and the statement made by the president,” the EC said in the statement issued on Thursday, December 10, 2020.

The statement comes after some senior NDC members raised questions about the credibility of the percentage given to the candidates.

In reaction to this, the institute said: “While the EC’s response is very timely, there are several outstanding questions related to the credibility of the presidential election results for which researchers, data scientists, policy makers and political actors demand answers.

This is particularly important since the error is not limited to the total number of valid votes cast but also to the total number of valid votes obtained by each candidate and their corresponding percentages.

to. What explains the gross calculation error in the results declared by the EC on December 9, 2020?

second. Was the result calculated manually or was automated statistical software used? If statistical software was used, what software was used and what could have contributed to these anomalies? If manual calculation was used, how was it done and by whom?

C. Did the EC audit or verify the accuracy of the results prior to the declaration? How much due diligence was carried out and who did it?

re. When did the EC notice the anomaly? Was it before, during and after the declaration of the result? How did the anomaly get the attention of the EC? Was it an internal verification or an external request?

me. What were the reasons or factors that contributed to some candidates registering an increase in votes while for others there was a decrease in the number of valid votes obtained in the revised results published by the EC on December 10, 2020?

F. What is the completeness of the purported presidential results revised to promote statistical speeches related to the 2020 presidential elections in Ghana published by the EC on December 10, 2020? What processes were adopted to review the results?