A former Deputy National Youth Organiser of the National Democracy Congress (NDC) has insisted that he won the party’s parliamentary primary held at Ketu North.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Probe, Eric Edem Agbana said that despite the opposition to his victory, he won the Saturday elections with 360 votes while his biggest contender had 359.
He explained that following the initial counting, a recount was done twice on the request of his opponents but the votes remained the same.
“After that my agent signed the pink sheet which recorded the 360 votes, only for a challenge to be brought up about the validity of the ballot papers.
“So they decided to check whether or not all the ballots were properly stamped. And according to EC officials after that check, two of the ballot papers recorded in my favour did not have the stamp,” Mr Agbana told the host Blessed Sogah.
He noted that a further check of these ballot papers’ serial numbers proved that they were legitimate papers issued from the Electoral Commission’s booklet.
“It means that if these papers were without a stamp, it was as a result of either recklessness on the part of an EC official, or a deliberate attempt of an EC official to mar the process.
“How do you punish a candidate or the voter for an abysmal job done by an EC official? There is a winner in Ketu North and the winner is Edem Agbana.”
On Saturday, the NDC delegates in Ketu North had to choose between eight candidates who to vote for to represent them in the 2024 general election.
After an initial count of the votes cast, Mr Agbana and his team began celebrating after beating his opponent with one vote.
However, shortly after his win was called into question with the opposition demanding a run off.
But, Mr Agbana said he will not sit quietly while his win is being undermined.
“How do I go into a rerun when I have won the elections? There is a clear winner and the winner is Edem Agbana. I will not allow anyone to steal.”
He added that “if there was a tie and a need for a rerun of the elections and it is legitimate, I would gladly submit myself to the same.”
“But when everyone can confirm that I am victorious, how do you want me to submit myself to a process and say I am trying to prove a point that I am not scared?”
Mr Agbana said giving into calls for a rerun could only mean that as a parliamentary candidate he will not be able to protect the mandate the people have given him.
Meanwhile, NDC is yet to officially resolve the issue.