Accra, July 25, GNA -The Elections Dispute Adjudication Committee (EDAC) of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has directed a re-run of the Ashanti Regional Chairperson election within 14 working days, citing irregularities that may have affected the outcome of the June 30, 2025 poll.
The decision follows a petition challenging the eligibility of five of the voters in the region.
In a press release issued on Thursday, July 24, the Committee said after examining the petition and the responses of all parties involved, it determined that a fresh poll was necessary to uphold the integrity and fairness of the Association’s electoral process.
A key factor influencing the Committee’s ruling, it said, was the extremely narrow margin by which the election was decided.
There was just one vote between the two candidates.
It cited the generation of the supplementary voter list (comprising the five voters) on the day of the election as one of the irregularities.
The list, it noted, included one registered voter in the Greater Accra Region, who was permitted to cast a ballot in the Ashanti Region.
“To restore the confidence of members and ensure that the electoral process reflects the true will of the Association in the Ashanti Region, a re-run has been deemed the most fair and just course of action,” the Committee stated in the release jointly signed by its Chairman, Mr Zakaria Tanko Musah and the two other members of the Committee.
“Our decision is informed by critical irregularities that took place prior to and during the elections.
“This includes the failure to adhere to some GJA constitutional provisions, culminating in the generation of a supplementary list on the day of elections….”
In line with this decision, the Committee directed that the GJA Elections Committee re-conduct the Ashanti Regional elections within 14 working days from the date of the announcement.
It also directed that a full list of eligible voters be published in the national dailies and made available to all contestants at least three clear working days before the election.
Furthermore, no supplementary list shall be created for the re-run, it stated.
The Committee called on all members to take a keen interest in the implementation of these directives, to safeguard the credibility of the process.
A full report detailing the Committee’s findings, rationale and recommendations would be submitted to the GJA Secretariat and made publicly available in due course, it said.
The EDAC includes Ms Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho as Secretary and Mr Benjamin Bano-Bioh as Technical Advisor.
The Committee, On July 9, suspended the swearing-in of the Ashanti Regional executives, which was also initially scheduled for July 11, pending the outcome of the re-run.
In the original election held on June 30, Mr Kofi Adu Domfeh, a journalist with the Multimedia Group, polled 16 votes, narrowly beating Ms Georgina Ama Ankomah, the incumbent Ashanti Regional Secretary of the GJA, who garnered 15 votes.
The petition contesting the outcome was filed shortly after the results were declared.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey