EC �Strong Room� Is No Longer Important � John Boadu

National Youth Organiser of the main opposition, New Patriotic Party (NPP) says the Operations Room of the Electoral Commission, popularly known as the �Strong room� has lost its relevance. The strong room is where all provisional results are certified by the Electoral commission. The �Strong Room� falls under the �Elections Department� of the commission and it is where results are authenticated to show who has won a general election. In the �Strong Room� chairmen of the various political parties receive confirmation of results from their agents in the various polling stations in the constituencies before they append their signatures. Contributing to a panel discussion on Friday�s edition of �Kokrokoo�, John Boadu said the tension in the strong room is �too much�. According to him, �we have come to a point where I think the strong room is no longer important. It creates unnecessary tension in the country�. John Boadu, who was speaking to the issue of the one year commemoration of the most popular battle in the country dubbed, �the battle of the pink sheets�, bemoaned the presence of large numbers of military and police personnel in and around the vicinity of the strong room. A year ago, the Justice William Atuguba led 9-member panel, ruled over an election petition which was filed by the 2012 NPP Flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, his running mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and then party chairman, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey; challenging the legitimacy of President Mahama. According to the petitioners, the elections were rigged in favour of the current President. However, per the Supreme Court ruling, President Mahama validly won the 2012 elections.