Claim: EC Chairperson declares John Mahama President-elect
Source: Viral WhatsApp video
Verdict: False
Researched by Gifty Tracy Aminu & Sani Abdul-Rahman
A doctored video of the Electoral Commission Chairperson Jean Mensa is being widely shared on social media claiming Ghana’s election management body has called the December 7 presidential election for John Mahama.
GhanaFact was alerted to the 30-second long video clip on WhatsApp and it shows the EC boss saying:
“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, on the basis of the foregoing election results and by the power vested in me as the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana and the returning officer of the Presidential elections, it is my duty and honour to declare Mr John Dramani Mahama as president-elect of the Republic of Ghana.”
Fact-check
GhanaFact found the viral video has been doctored seemingly from the official declaration of Ghana’s presidential election results done by Jean Mensa on December 9.
Also, another thing we observed from analysing the original video is that there were no microphones in front of the Chairperson when she declared the presidential results contrary to what is seen in the viral video.
Ghana’s Electoral Commission has meanwhile issued a statement to debunk the contents of the viral video and admonished the public to disregard it.
The EC reaffirmed its earlier declared position, stating that incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo is President-elect of the Republic of Ghana.
Verdict
The viral video has been doctored and the claim is false.
