By Iddi Yire
Accra, Dec 04, GNA – The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) is alarmed by the observed incidents of vote-buying and the photographing of cast ballots recorded in the special voting.
The special voting was held on Monday, December 2, in 14 out of 16 regions.
A report by the CODEO on the Special Voting, made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said the Coalition was concerned that some electoral presiding officers and security officers did nothing to stop the violations.
The Coalition consequently is calling on the Ghana Police Service to take swift action against all such cases, including those reported in the media.
“As a matter of urgency, the EC and the National Election Security Task Force must issue strict directives to presiding officers and security offices on what actions to take when they witness election offences,” the report said.
“This will help forestall similar occurrences during the December 7 polls,” the report said.
It noted that observers reported a generally smooth voting exercise, but there were however, worrying incidents of vote-buying by political parties and taking photos of ballots cast.
Observers from the CODEO reported a generally smooth voting exercise, with 81 per cent of polling stations opened by 0715 hours, and 19 per cent opened between 0716 hours and 0800 hours.
It said at nearly all polling stations observed, agents from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the National Patriotic Party (NPP) were present.
It said observers noted that sensitive voting materials were available at all the observed polling stations except a few (four per cent) where there was only one Biometric Voter Verification Device (BVD) instead of two.
It said most (97 per cent) of the observed polling stations did not face any malfunction of the BVD system throughout the day.
The said observers further reported that most (97 per cent) polling stations were set up so voters could mark their ballot secretly.
The report said most polling stations (93 per cent) also had the requisite number of polling staff, five; however, about one-third (30 per cent) of these polling stations had no female staff, while 43 per cent had only one woman.
Touching on critical incidents such as voting process incidents, the report said the detection of a missing serial number/ballot paper (numbered 0000046) from the ballot booklet at Sefwi Akontombra in the Western Region led to a minor misunderstanding at the polling station.
It said this was caused by a missing serial number from the sequence of serial numbers in the ballot booklets; however, officials and party agents later resolved the issue, reporting a case of missing serial numbers.
Concerning photographing of thumb-printed ballots, the report said observers from CODEO reported critical incidents that compromised the secrecy of the vote, such as voters taking a picture of their ballot after thumbprinting it.
The report mentioned that at the Cape Coast North constituency in the Central Region, a voter attempted to photograph their vote, but the security officials intercepted him.
It also cited that at Ablekuma South in the Greater Accra Region, a voter went into the voting booth and photographed the ballot paper showing her vote for the presidential candidate.
It said at Walewale in the North East Region, a party agent and security officials intercepted a voter who photographed their vote before casting the ballot allegedly to receive money.
It said in Bolgatanga Central in the Upper East Region, a police officer photographed their vote; the matter was subsequently reported to the police inspector on duty at the polling station.
And at Navrongo Central, also in the Upper East Region, an EC official and a police officer were seen taking pictures of their respective ballots; they were both taken into police custody.
Regarding incidents of vote-buying, the report said observers reported two alleged vote-buying cases.
It said at Keta in the Volta Region, some party representatives at the polling station shared money to people who voted for their candidates.
It said at the Weija-Gbawe Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, some individuals
believed to be NPP party representatives were at the polling station’s gate, giving out
GH¢100 and GH¢500 to voters to cast their votes for the NPP candidates.
It said in Jaman North, located in the Bono Region, a non-uniformed police officer (who
doubles as a key member of the incumbent MP’s security detail) attempted to prevent the NPP party chairman and several representatives from sharing money; this resulted in verbal attacks on the officer.
The report said the incidents observed during special voting follow other similar incidents observed by the CODEO in the preelection period thus far regarding voter inducement by political parties.
It said the CODEO had also been monitoring news reports about purported instances of vote-buying by the NPP, the NDC, the New Force movement, and the Movement for Change in specific constituencies.
These include Awutu Senya East in the Central Region, Ayawaso West Wuogon in the Greater Accra Region, and Tema Central in the Greater Accra Region.
It said in some cases, such as Ayawaso West Wuogon, parliamentary candidates were seen on video circulating on social media interacting with voters in queues within the precincts of polling stations.
The report said CODEO urges the Ghana Police Service to update the public on any such actions.
It said CODEO acknowledges the interest taken by the Office of the Special Prosecutor in these matters.
It said CODEO calls on all political parties to refrain from these practices, which were deeply damaging to the integrity of the electoral process, and on voters to refuse any attempts of inducement and freely express their right to vote on December 7.
It said CODEO commends the EC and stakeholders for a generally smooth exercise.
The report said the Coalition urges the Commission to ensure that voting on December 7 takes place smoothly, fairly and freely.
GNA