The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has observed that most polling stations attained more than the required turnout threshold of 50% of total valid vote cast in the historic referendum for the creation of the six new regions.
However, turnout figures in some polling stations were “unusually high” in some cases as high as 99% raising various questions about the integrity of the elections.
According to the National Coordinator of CODEO, Albert Arhin, his outfit also documented widespread disparities and unusually high numbers of manual verification across the various polling stations they observed.
Two million voters cast YES votes overwhelmingly in Thursday’s historic referendum for the proposed creation of six new regions.
The regions are Savanah, Bono East, Oti, Western North, North East and Ahafo Regions.
The reorganisation of the regions is a demand by members of the Volta, Oti; Brong Ahafo, Ahafo and Bono East; Northern, Savannah and North East and Western Regions, Western North, mostly aligned by article 5 of the 1992 constitution which imposed strict requirement on the creation of new regions, alteration of boundaries or the merger of two or more regions.
On August 15, 2017, the Council of State advised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to appoint a Commission of Enquiry to look into the need to create six regions and make recommendations on all factors involved in the creation of the regions.
The commission, chaired by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice S. A. Brobbey, was established pursuant to Article 5 of the 1992 Constitution and CI 105 and commenced work on November 21, 2017.
On June 27, 2018, it presented its report to President Akufo-Addo and recommended the creation of six new regions. The commission also recommended to the President that the referendum be limited to the proposed regions.
