By Edward Acquah
Accra, Dec. 05, GNA – Voters in the Western and Eastern regions will take their turn in the Special Voting Exercise today, ahead of the December 7 General Election.
Voting will commence at 0700 hours and close at 1700 hours.
The Special Voting Exercise was initially scheduled for Monday, December 2, 2024 but it had to be rescheduled in the two regions following the recall and reprinting of ballot papers dispatched to them.
Consequently, the exercise in the Western and Eastern regions was postponed to Thursday, December 5, 2024.
The Special Voting exercise would allow eligible voters involved in election-related duties, including election officials, security personnel, and media practitioners, to cast their ballots early.
Some 131,478 voters, representing 0.007 per cent of the total registered voters (18,741,159), were expected to participate in the Special Voting across the country.
The exercise was successfully carried out in 14 regions from 0700 hours to 1700 hours.
At the close of polls, the ballot papers were not counted. Instead, they would be counted on December 7 at the Constituency Collation Centres and added to the results from the main election.
The Returning Officer at each Constituency Collation Centre would record the results separately on both the Presidential and Parliamentary Election Results Collation Forms, before including them in the final tally from all polling stations.
To ensure security, all ballot boxes were sealed and stored in a secured room at a Police Station within each constituency.
Eligible Ghanaian voters will go to the polls on Saturday, December 7 to elect a President and 276 Members of Parliament.
Ghana has conducted eight successive elections since the commencement of the 4th Republic in 1993.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured that he would peacefully hand over power to the next Government at the end of his tenure on January 7, 2025.
GNA