I said we ‘could’ declare election results - Mac Manu

The campaign manager for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Peter Mac Manu has clarified comments he made to the effect that the party will declare its own results in the impending polls.

The former national chairman of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition told party supporters in Takoradi in the Western region that the NPP was putting in place measures to safeguard the integrity of the elections, including a possible declaration of results.

“In this election, the NPP will also declare our own results,” Mr Mac Manu said amid shouts and cheers from party supporters in Takoradi. “...The IGP cannot stop us. Whether you are the Electoral Commission, whether you are a police or security officer, whether you are a polling agent, whether you are a chief, you cannot stop NPP from declaring results.”

Mac Manu’s comments have been widely condemned by his colleagues from the other political parties. The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) says the move smacks of lawlessness.

A deputy General Secretary Koku Anyidoho told Starr News the move could plunge the country into chaos if allowed to be carried through. “It’s against Ghana’s constitutional arrangement so it’s lawlessness, recipe for chaos, recipe for confusion and recipe for disaster and that’s the kind of party Nana Akufo-Addo is leading today.”

The People’s National Congress (PNC) has also taken Mac Manu to the cleaners over his pronouncement. Chairman of the party Bernard Mornah has described the comments as “distasteful and disgraceful”.

Mornah said, “the NPP is suggesting a state of Armageddon...I think that it is distasteful and disgraceful that such a statement would come from no mean a person but the campaign manager of the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party. I think that the NPP itself must call its own to order so as not to jeopardize our fledgling democracy.”

But under fire Mac Manu says his comments were taken out of context. He told Starr News he meant to say the NPP will also undertake parallel vote tabulation alongside the Electoral Commission.

“I didn’t say we’ll declare, please play the tape again. I said we could, okay? I didn’t say we will. No, no, no, we could!” Asked whether he is aware the EC is the only body mandated to declare election results, Mr. Manu said: “I know, I’m not disputing that. I’m saying, when we do our parallel vote tabulation in a way, it’s a declaration.”