NDC sets up parallel collation centre to monitor NPP flagbearer primaries
31st January 2026
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has unveiled plans to closely track the New Patriotic Party’s presidential primaries by deploying observers nationwide and operating its own independent results collation centre.
Speaking on Joy FM, the NDC’s Deputy National Director of Elections, Rashid Tanko-Computer, said the opposition party is taking the step to independently verify proceedings and outcomes from the NPP’s internal contest scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 2026.
According to him, monitoring teams have been positioned across the country, while a central collation hub has been established to receive real-time updates from polling centres.
“This is about safeguarding the integrity of the democratic process,” he explained, adding that the NDC does not fully trust how the governing party conducts its internal elections.
Mr. Tanko-Computer pointed to past controversies within the NPP, including disputes involving the so-called “38.2 per cent group,” where some aspirants accused party leadership of manipulating earlier primaries. He also referenced reports of an “Anti-Rigging Squared” group formed by some NPP members to guard against internal electoral malpractice.
“When you see factions within the same party creating groups to stop rigging against each other, it shows there is a serious trust deficit,” he said.
The NDC official further raised concerns about possible irregularities even before voting began, alleging that some ballot papers may have already been thumb-printed in favour of a preferred candidate.
“There are disturbing reports that some ballot papers were marked before the process started. That is something we cannot ignore,” he stated.
He stressed that the opposition’s monitoring efforts are aimed at preventing what he described as the possible manipulation of figures during collation.
“We are being very vigilant so that results are not cooked at the end of the day,” he said.
Mr. Tanko-Computer also expressed suspicion of potential collaboration between the NPP and the Electoral Commission, claiming the opposition cannot rule out interference in the process.
“That is why we have people on the ground and our own collation centre. We are watching every step carefully,” he added.
He concluded by noting that NDC observers will remain stationed at polling centres throughout the country until final results are declared.