Nana Akufo-Addo urges supporters to remain calm

The presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the just-ended elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has urged members of the party to remain calm as the leadership of the party seeks legitimate means to ensure that all the alleged incidents of fraud perpetrated on the NPP in the elections are reversed.

Addressing concerned supporters who were calling for a vote recount, amid the singing of war songs, at his residence at Nima, Nana Akufo-Addo assured them that he would ensure that the right thing was done and that as a first step, the National Executive Committee of the party would meet on today to take a firm decision on the way forward.

But speaking to the media earlier, a member of the NPP legal team, Nana Asante Bediatuo, had hinted that the party would seek legal redress to the widespread fraud that was perpetrated to ensure that President John Mahama was re-elected.

He explained that after the audit of the report by the party's team, especially the careful calculation of the votes recorded on the red sheets at a number of polling stations, it was realised that many of Nana Akufo-Addo votes had been reduced, while those of the NDC candidate had been inflated at the collation centres.

He said the party had gathered enough evidence and that its National Executive Committee, which is the second highest decision-making body of the party, after congress, would meet today to take a final decision for the court action to be taken.

Giving some examples, Nana Bediatuo said in the Tamale South Constituency, whereas the total votes calculated from the red sheets indicated that President Mahama had 37,832 as the actual figure, it was inflated to 53,536, an increase of 15,704.

In Lower Manya Krobo, he said, the actual figure recorded was 23,520 but that was increased by 6,663 to 30,183, while in Yilo Krobo, the actual figure was 21,772, which was inflated by 7,528 to 29,300.

In Berekum West, where Nana Akufo-Addo received a total of 10,539 votes from the various polling stations, the numbers were reduced during the collation to 7,750, meaning the NPP candidate lost 2,789 votes through fraudulent means.