Edem Agbana claims victory in Ketu North NDC primaries. The former Deputy National Youth Organiser of the National Democracy Congress has declared himself the winner of the party’s parliamentary primaries in Ketu North.
He told JoyNews’ The Probe that he secured 360 votes in the Saturday polls, while his closest rival got 359 votes.
He said that his opponents requested two recounts, but the results did not change.
“After that, my agent signed the pink sheet that showed the 360 votes. But then, they raised an issue about the validity of some ballot papers.”
“They wanted to check if all the ballots had the right stamp. The EC officials said that two of the ballots that were in my favour did not have the stamp,” Mr Agbana said to the host Blessed Sogah.
He added that these ballots had valid serial numbers that matched the EC’s booklet.
“This means that these papers were either stamped poorly by an EC official, or deliberately left unstamped by an EC official to sabotage the process.”
“It is not fair to penalise a candidate or a voter for a mistake or a plot by an EC official. There is a winner in Ketu North and that winner is Edem Agbana.”
Eight candidates contested for the NDC ticket in Ketu North on Saturday.
Mr Agbana and his supporters celebrated after he won by one vote.
But his victory was challenged by his opponents who demanded a run off.
Mr Agbana said he will not accept any attempt to rob him of his win.
“How can I agree to a rerun when I have won the elections? There is a clear winner and that winner is Edem Agbana. I will not let anyone steal.”
He said that “if there was a tie and a legitimate need for a rerun, I would gladly participate in it.”
“But when everyone knows that I have won, how can you expect me to go through another process and say I am not afraid?”
Mr Agbana said that agreeing to a rerun would mean that he cannot protect the mandate given to him by the people.
The NDC has not officially settled the matter yet.
