By Edward Acquah
Accra, Dec. 01, GNA – The Electoral Commission (EC) has reached consensus with political parties to reschedule the Special Voting Exercise in the Western and Eastern regions.
The Special Voting for the affected regions has been rescheduled from Monday , December 2, 2024 to Thursday, December 5, 2024.
This follows a decision by the Commission to recall and reprint the ballot papers for the Eastern and Western Regions as a result of a defaced ballot paper among the presidential ballots for the Eastern Region.
Mrs Jean Mensa, Chairperson, EC, at an emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Sunday, said the decision to recall the ballot papers for the two affected regions was because the Checkpoint Limited, the printing House for the Eastern Region was the same company that printed the ballot papers for the Western Region.
“It has not been an easy decision to arrive at but as a Commission that is committed to ensuring the integrity of all our processes, we are of the view that this is important that we recall for a reprint ,” she said.
The National Security drew the attention of the EC to the detection of the defaced ballot papers among the ballot papers for the Eastern Region meant for destruction.
The Commission said the recall of all the ballot papers printed by the Checkpoint Limited was necessary for fear that the security features of the ballot papers could have been detected and replicated.
Mrs Mensa said the EC has consequently appointed the Buck Press to reprint the ballot papers for the Western Region while the ballot papers for the Eastern Region would be printed by Innolink Limited and Acts Commercials.
Mrs Mensa said new security features would be embossed on the reprinted ballot papers and the serial numbers would be revised to guarantee the integrity of the ballots.
She appealed to the affected voters in the Western and Eastern regions to bear with Commission in the face of the development.
During the IPAC meeting, the political parties backed the EC’s decision to recall and reprint the ballot papers for the affected regions but described the move as a “heavy decision.”
In separate media interviews after the meeting, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Director of Elections, National Democratic Congress, and Mr Evans Nimako, Director of Elections, New Patriotic Party, called on the security agencies to conduct full scale investigation into the issue.
They said the development would place additional responsibilities on the political parties but it was necessary to support the Commission’s decision to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process.
GNA