Political Scientist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante, has urged political actors to respect established electoral processes and avoid actions that could undermine the credibility of elections in pursuit of isolated concerns.
His comments follow events at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) signing ceremony held on Thursday, January 22, 2026, where tensions reportedly flared after one of the presidential hopefuls, Kennedy Agyapong, raised concerns about the content of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) presented to the aspirants.
The concerns sparked speculation that the document differed from what had earlier been agreed upon. Addressing the issue, Kwasi Kwarteng, spokesperson for the Kennedy Agyapong Campaign Team, explained that Mr Agyapong objected after noticing that the MoU omitted a clause stating that voting centres would also serve as collation centres where results would be declared.
However, the Bawumia Campaign Team offered a different explanation. Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Director of Communications for Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign, said the disagreement centred on Clause 2 of the MoU, which commits aspirants to accept the outcome of the party’s presidential primary scheduled for January 31, 2026.
He quoted the clause as stating that aspirants pledge to “accept the results… and respect the outcome, irrespective of the result,” describing it as a binding expression of the will of party delegates.
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show, Dr Asah-Asante stressed that Ghana’s electoral system is designed to address disputes at multiple stages, beginning at the polling station.
According to him, challenges arising in one or two polling centres should not be used to “hold the entire electoral process to ransom.”
“For elections, if you have any problem, you raise it at the polling station and it’s resolved. You cannot say that because of one or two issues, you are holding the whole process to ransom. That is not fair to the whole electoral process,” he said.
Dr Asah-Asante explained that, beyond election-day mechanisms, there are post-election processes that allow aggrieved parties to seek redress without obstructing the declaration of results. He added that losing candidates in a free and fair election must learn to accept defeat and abide by the rules of the democratic process.
“In a free and fair election, when you lose, you lose gallantly. You have to accept defeat and abide by the rules of the game,” he emphasised.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com