The Electoral Commission of Ghana has reversed its earlier decision to abandon the use of indelible ink in the upcoming 2024 general elections.
Dr. Eric Asare Bossman, the Deputy EC Chairman in charge of Corporate Services, revealed that the Commission has taken into account the diverse concerns surrounding this decision.
Acknowledging the concerns raised by the public, parliamentarians, political parties, and civil society members, Dr. Bossman emphasized the Commission’s commitment to addressing these issues.
Speaking in an interview with Joy FM, he stated, “after listening to the discussions, we have heard the concerns of the general public, we have heard the parliamentarians, we have heard the concerns of the NPP and the NDC and civil society members so we have concluded that if by using the ink people will have more trust in the process, why not?”.
Dr. Bossman clarified that the original intention was to streamline the voting process by eliminating double verification.
He noted, “Last year we noted that we thought when you look at the procedures in our elections the idea of using the indelible ink is like you are using two layers for verification.
“The Commission said if Mr. Evans Mensah is coming to vote, then Mr Evans Mensah will be verified electronically for us to know that indeed Mr Mensah has been verified so when you want to go ahead to use the indelible ink then clearly you don’t have confidence in your biometric register so as a result of that we suggested that it will be better if we do away with the ink.”
The Electoral Commission (EC) also mentioned that its proposal to shift the date of the general elections from December 7 to November may not be implemented this year.
Dr. Eric Asare Bossman stated that the legislation necessary for this change will soon be presented before Parliament.