CHAIRMAN of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has said the country’s West neighbour, Ghana, learnt from Nigeria in the area of managing constituency election results.
Professor Yakubu, who was in Ghana at the weekend to monitor the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections, in a short video, said: “The second thing for me is the lesson that Ghana also learned from Nigeria in the area of managing constituency election results. Until the last election in Ghana, all results came to the electoral commission’s headquarters in Accra, both parliamentary and presidential.
“Although Ghana is not a federal system, they learnt from Nigeria where you have returning officers who announce results for parliamentary elections in the various constituencies around the country. Only the presidential election results come to Accra.
“In Nigeria, this is what we have done and they borrowed a leaf from us, and this is the second time they are implementing that.”
For the 2024 presidential election, Ghana adopted a decentralised system, allowing constituency-level officers to announce parliamentary results locally, while only presidential results were sent to Accra.
Ghana’s former President John Mahama won the country’s presidential election held on Saturday, 7 December 2024, after his main opponent, incumbent Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat.
The defeat in Saturday’s election ended two terms in power for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Professor Yakubu believed that Ghana’s current approach to managing results at the constituency level was inspired by Nigeria, adding that the process has improved the efficiency of the electoral process.
Professor Yakubu further observed the political stability inherent in Ghana’s democracy, noting the consistency of its political party structures and voter loyalty.
He cited the perseverance of the main opposition candidate, a former vice president, and the current President, Akufo-Addo, who contested multiple elections before achieving success.
“Rarely in Ghana do you see people moving from one party to another with every general election. So, that is important.
“It provides stability. It also provides their supporters with stability. So, there are people who have supported political parties for many years. Whether the party is in power or opposition, they stick to the political party,” Yakubu said.
Meanwhile, Professor Yakubu’s comment has been met with widespread outrage, with many social media users hinting that he is out of touch with the realities of his country’s electoral challenges.
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