The Electoral Commission (EC) has officially declared Patrick Yaw Boamah of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as the Member of Parliament-elect for the Okaikwei Central constituency in the Greater Accra region. This announcement comes after a High Court ruling that ordered the EC to re-collate results from the constituency.
According to the re-collated results, Patrick Yaw Boamah secured 21,099 votes, beating his opponent, Abdulai Abu Baba Saddiq of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who garnered 19,368 votes ¹. The High Court's ruling was a response to an application filed by the NPP, seeking to compel the EC to complete the collation of parliamentary results for the constituency.
Justice Forson Agyapong, who presided over the case, ruled in favor of the NPP, stating that the EC had failed to collate results from 31 outstanding polling stations in the constituency, which was a breach of its obligations. The court subsequently ordered the EC to collate the results from the remaining polling stations and incorporate them into the already collated figures.
This decision paved the way for the final declaration of Patrick Yaw Boamah as the winner. Okaikwei Central is one of the four constituencies that were still in contention between the two major parties, with barely two days left before the swearing-in of newly elected MPs.
The NPP has also secured favorable rulings in the other three constituencies, namely Ablekuma North, Techhiman South, and Tema Central. Following the ruling, the EC immediately commenced the collation process to conclude and gazette the results before the swearing-in of new MPs.
However, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has served notice of appeal against the High Court's ruling on all four constituencies. This development is likely to add another layer of complexity to the already contentious election process.
Patrick Yaw Boamah's victory is a significant boost to the NPP's fortunes in the Greater Accra region. As the MP-elect for Okaikwei Central, he will be expected to play a key role in shaping the region's development agenda.
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