Former Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, has voiced his opposition to the practice of discarding validly cast ballots in disputed areas during elections.
He argues that rather than cancelling these votes, the EC should conduct a rerun of the elections in the contested areas to accurately reflect the will of the people.
Dr. Afari-Gyan made this assertion while speaking at the sidelines of the Ghana Bar Association’s Annual General Conference in Kumasi. He emphasized that the democratic process must be upheld by ensuring that all valid votes are counted, and that canceling such ballots is undemocratic.
“It is not acceptable to cancel out some validly cast ballots. In some places, sometimes called wasted votes,” he said. Drawing on Nigeria’s “doctrine of wasted votes” as an example, Dr. Afari-Gyan highlighted how discarding votes unfairly penalizes voters.
“When you cancel the ballots, you may be punishing some people for no offence whatsoever. They have not committed any offence.”
The former EC chair further stressed that decisions regarding election outcomes should be left to the people through their votes, and not imposed by election officials or judicial figures. “The right thing to do is to rerun the election for the people to decide. The decision is the people’s decision. It is not the election officials’ decision. It is not the judge’s decision. The democratic election is the people who decide.”
Dr. Afari-Gyan’s remarks come at a time when electoral processes and their management have become critical topics of discussion, as stakeholders seek to ensure transparency and fairness in Ghana’s democratic system.