Tag: Electoral Commission

Confusion has disrupted the electoral process at Kadania polling station in Kayoro in the Chiana-Paga Constituency, GhanaWeb’s Senyalah Castro reports.

The confusion broke out after an ambulance officer deployed to maintain security at the polling station allegedly hit the leg of a voter for failing to obey rules.

Sources explaining how the incident happened said the security officer in the discharge of his duties hit the leg of the voter for trying to jump the queue.

The source said following the slow pace at which the voting process was moving, EC officials at the polling station gave numbers to voters which were to be adhered to diligently.

But being a bit uncomfortable with the long queue, the victim was said to have tried jumping the queue which led to him being hit by the security officer who demanded that he returned to his former position.

Details had it that the action of the Security officer did not go down well with the youth of the area who pounced on him and caused serious injuries to his head.

The fracas caused EC officials to break the process to resolve the issue.

It was gathered that it took the intervention of the New Patriotic Party Parliamentary Candidate for the area, Robert Aloo and his team to douse tensions.

The officer, according to reports, was later escorted under tight security out of the polling station by some “good Samaritans” who are said to have taken him to the nearest health facility.

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor George Benneh, who is 86 years old, frail, wheelchair-bound, and can hardly talk, insisted on casting his ballot today, Monday, 7 December 2020, in the ongoing general elections.

His wife, Mrs. Adelaide Benneh, told the media that Prof Benneh, despite his ill health, is very aware of happenings around him and expressed interest in exercising his franchise.

Mrs. Benneh, who assisted her husband to the polling station, said: “He knows what is going on. He is very clear. He knows everything. He can decide on what to do, so, when he expressed the idea that he wanted to come, I helped him to come”.

“We all love Ghana, so, we try to ensure that the people we want, rule this country; so that we will all have peace. You know, peace is very important to us.

“We want peace and we want development. We want a country free of corruption,” she noted.

Source: Class FM

One man has been arrested by security officials in Zebilla in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region for taking a photo of his ballot paper.

The suspect who had voted in the Presidential election took a photo of his vote for reasons yet unknown and was spotted.

The security personnel moved in to arrest him and he is currently in custody and was not made to vote in the parliamentary election.

During the Special Voting on December 1, social media was awash with photos of people’s votes.

But three persons were arrested for taking photos of their votes.

The Commission has said that it is illegal for electorates to take photos of their votes awash with photos of their votes.

Source: My News GH

The Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) has asked all eligible voters to return home after casting their ballot.

The EC said there was no need to loiter around the polling centres after casting the vote.

Ghanaians are exercising their franchise to elect a president and Members of Parliament on Monday, December 7.

Voting started at 7:00 am and is expected to close at 5:00 pm.

The EC said on Monday that the voters can return after polls close to witness the counting of ballots.

“Go to your Polling Station with your Voter ID card if you are a registered voter between 7 am and 5 pm to cast your vote then leave quietly. You may return to the Polling Station after 5 pm to observe the counting of ballots,” the elections management body said in a tweet just before polls started.

Go to your Polling Station with your Voter ID card if you are a registered voter between 7am and 5pm to cast your vote then leave quietly. You may return to the Polling Station after 5pm to observe the counting of ballots.#LetTheCitizenKnow#GhanaElections2020 pic.twitter.com/x4eHFwmzw9

— Electoral Commission Of Ghana (@ECGhanaOfficial) December 7, 2020

Source: 3 News

People at the Civil Service Centre Cantonments A Polling station in the Dade-Kotopon Constituency have had some challenges while trying to cast their vote.

Voting as everyone expects is supposed to start at exactly 7 am but not in the case of the people of Cantonment as their voting had to delay due to an uncovered ballot box.

This is because one of their ballot boxes did not come with a cover and the quest to find one delayed them in casting their vote.

Officials at the polling station tried to find a fitting cover for the box but to no avail.

Few minutes after trying to find another cover for the box, they still could not find a perfect fit so officials at the polling station opted for another ballot box.

New ballot boxes with fit covers came in around 7:55 am and voting proceeded afterwards.

Source: e.TV Ghana

The Coalition of Professionals for Peaceful Elections (CPPE) has asked the Electoral Commission of Ghana to be transparent in the upcoming elections on December 7.

A statement signed by Claudia Lumor, Founder, Glitz Africa & UNFPA Ambassador, Ghana, and two other members of CPPE said, as Ghana heads to the polls on Monday “we the CPPE call on all Ghanaians, young and old to act in accordance with the laws of Ghana whilst we exercise our democratic right to periodically choose our leaders.”

The statement explained that elections provide us with the platform to freely express our political will, as the sovereignty of our homeland Ghana resides in us, “in whose name and for whose welfare the powers of government are to be exercised” as we are told in the first clause of the first article of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

“We therefore commend the Electoral Commission for all the work it has done in preparation for the upcoming elections, and for the transparency and professionalism that has epitomized and characterized its work in the past few months, and was further exhibited during the special voting exercise this week.

We however urge the Electoral Commission to demonstrate this same transparency and professionalism in the conduct of the elections on Monday 7th December 2020, so as to entrench our democracy and repay the confidence we have reposed in them as an independent State institution.

We also commend the security agencies for their consistent commitment to safeguarding our nascent democracy in our Fourth Republic, and urge them to be vigilant before, during and after the elections in order to maintain the peace and stability we are presently enjoying.

Finally, we call on all political parties in Ghana to deliver their closing arguments to the good people of Ghana this week, in a peaceful, professional and respectful manner, devoid of fake news, misinformation and disinformation, insults and/or name-calling, and further urge them to cooperate with the Electoral Commission and the security agencies to make the elections a resounding success, where Ghana will be the ultimate winner”, the statement said

CPPE is an association of young Ghanaian professionals from all walks of life, dedicated to ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections in Ghana in 2020 and beyond. It is made up of Dr. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu, Lawyer & Law Lecturer (Convener, CPPE); Claudia Lumor, Founder, Glitz Africa & UNFPA Ambassador, Ghana (Programmes Coordinator, CPPE); Mr. Andrew Khartey, Lawyer (Press Secretary, CPPE).

Source: 3 News

The Director of Electoral Services at the Electoral Commission, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, has said one violates the principles governing the electoral process if an individual takes pictures of their ballot paper after voting.

According to him, an individual does not commit an offence by telling others the party he voted for but can be arrested, according to the law, for sharing photos of ballot papers as it breaches the secrecy of the ballot.

He said “If you finish and you tell people who you voted for, that is fine but it is an offence for you to take photos of it and be showing it to people. That breaches the secrecy of the ballot. In the view of the law you can be arrested,” he said.

Dr Serebour Quaicoe who was speaking on Eyewitness News after the Electoral Commission held special voting for Security personnel, journalist among others on Tuesday, December 1.

He registered his displeasure on how ballot papers made rounds on social media during the exercise.

A total of 109,557 out of voter population of 17,027,641 participated in the special voting by security personnel, media personnel and some workers of the Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday ahead of December 7 general elections.

The smooth exercise commenced at 7:00 am in almost all centres and ended at 5:00 pm.

Source: ghanaweb.com

The Electoral Commission (EC) says it has made provision for registered Ghanaians whose names are not on the electoral roll to vote on Election Day.

Outside the certified voters register which has in excess of 17 million voters, 830 persons who successfully registered could not find their names on the register.

These persons have been put on a missing names list and are spread across 338,622 polling stations.

They will however be allowed to vote using manual verification.

Of the 830 persons, 542 were inadvertently omitted from the register.

The Commission says it identified the anomaly after a thorough audit of the register reconciling the end of day registration reports with the figures contained in the register.

The end of day report contains the actual number of voters registered by the close of each registration day.

Also, on the missing names list are 233 registered voters who were initially placed at the wrong polling stations.

The list also contains 55 persons who upon the audit were placed under the exceptions list but have successfully challenged their status at the High Court.

The Chairperson of the Commission, Jean Mensa, earlier said the problem of missing names was mainly due to unintentional human and administrative errors.

There had been complaints from some registered persons that they could not find their names on the register during the voter registration exercise.

Most of the complaints came from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) but the EC described their concerns as unfounded.

NDC had claimed it had detailed reports to back claims that the EC deliberately deleted the names of registered voters from the register but never released the alleged evidence.

Source: citinewsroom

Barely a week to the December 2020 polls, the Asunafo North Municipal Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) in the Ahafo region, Madam Martha Osei Agyemang has died creating a vacuum.

The 36-year-old who died at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital where she was on admission receiving treatment according to sources available to MyNewsGh.com left behind a child

Reports suggest Madam Martha complained she was unwell due to stress at her workplace in view of the workload at her office following the impending polls.

She, however, decided to see her personal doctor at Wenchi in Bono Region for which she left Goaso on Wednesday.

It was gathered that she was getting well and had planned her return to work until news broke out this weekend if her demise.

According to Ahafo Regional Director of the Electoral Commission John Appiah Baffoe who confirmed her death on a local radio station, Madam Martha was committed to her duty.

The body of the deceased has been conveyed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi.

Source: My News GH

Ghanaians two weeks from now on December 7, will be going to the polls to elect a new president and Members of Parliament.

The main thrust of democracy is that it confers on the people the power to elect their leaders.

However, free and fair elections practice is more often than not, undermined by political actors. These actors often do everything to subvert the will and the wishes of the people.

Ghana since 1992, when the country ushered in the fourth republican dispensation, has had a fair share of election violence due to the mistrust of the system and this year, will not be an exception.

A free and fair election is a prerequisite for peace, before, during, and after the election. Violence during elections or after announcements of election results is largely due to the perception that the election was rigged.

Rigging of elections must therefore be avoided in this year’s election, in order to avert violence and breach of peace!

The people’s choice should be allowed to prevail. This is where the Electoral Commission (EC), comes in.

This newspaper is of the opinion that, the Jean Mensah-led Commission must tread the path of its predecessors, who ensured that, Ghana came out of seven elections successfully.

As we approach December 7, there is every reason to remind the election management body that, the faith of the country lies in their hands, their action and decision before, during, and after the polls, is critical to the survival of the country.

Beyond superintending over the conduct of the general elections, it behooves on the electoral body to ensure a free and fair election, else this country risks plunging into crisis.

Ghanaians, should make their choice freely, without any hindrance. And every vote must count.

Source: The Herald

The Electoral Commission (EC) has mandated the Returning Officer to announce results of Election for a Constituency after first summing-up the total number of votes cast for each candidate at all polling stations in the constituency.

Outlining measures for the collation of results at the Constituency Collation Centre, the EC in its Election 2020 Guide to Voters manual available to the Ghana News Agency in Accra mandate the Returning Officer to count all votes cast including votes cast on special voting day.

Mr Kwame Amoah, EC Greater Accra Regional Director, told the GNA that Returning Officers were the sole authority to declare the winner for the Parliamentary Election at the end of every collation in the constituency at the Constituency Collation Centre.

The Returning Officer is also under the obligation to announce the collated provisional results in respect of the Presidential Election at the Collation Centre and forward same to the Commission.

After the announcement, the Returning Officer will endorse the results of the election on the Writ of Election (forms 1A and 1B) and forward it to the District Officer.

In addition, a copy of the Constituency Summary Result Sheets (Forms 1D and 10) duly endorsed by the Returning Officer and Collation Agents should be sent to the District Electoral Officer and a copy posted in a conspicuous place at the Constituency Collation Centre.

The EC also stressed that before the Regional Collation Officer publically announces the Presidential Election Results for the region, he or she must first collate the constituency results by adding the total number of votes cast for each candidate as seen on the Presidential Election Results Summary Sheet (Form 10) for all the various constituencies in the region.

After the announcement, the RCO will send a copy of the Presidential Results Summary Sheet (Form 12) to the Chairperson of the Commission, while a copy is posted at the Regional Office of the Commission.

Source: GNA

The Electoral Commission (EC) has cautioned the general public against the publication of fakes that it is recruiting data collection officials.

The EC in a statement on Monday, October 26 said it has noted with concern a publication circulating on social media announcing job opportunities for some 50,000 young persons for data collection purposes.

The said publication, according to the elections management body, “is not from the Electoral Commission of Ghana neither is the Commission recruiting persons for data collection.”

The Commission entreats the general public to disregard it.

Source: 3 News

The Electoral Commission (EC) is expected to start printing ballot papers for the 7 December 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections today, Monday, October 26, 2020.

There are eleven political parties and one independent candidate on the presidential ballot.

Each candidate is expected to nominate a representative to observe the printing process.

At the balloting event for positions on the ballot paper, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) emerged number one while the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) was number two.

The parties balloted for the positions on Tuesday, 20 October 2020 at the head office of the Electoral Commission.

See the full list below:

NPP 1

NDC 2

GUM- 3

CPP 4

GFP 5

GCPP 6

APC 7

LPG 8

PNC 9

PPP 10

NDP 11

Independent 12

Meanwhile, on Monday, 19 October 2020, the EC announced the qualified and disqualified presidential aspirants.

Five of the 17 aspirants who filed their nominations were disqualified.

They include independent aspirant Marricke Gane (fake signatures), Akwasi Addae Odike of the UPP (fake signatures), Kwesi Busumuru of the Popular Action Party (fake signatures and had no supporters for some districts in GA/R), Nana Agyenim Boateng of the UFP (three persons denied endorsing his candidature) and Kofi Koranteng, an independent aspirant.

Source: Class FM

The Electoral Commission (EC) has said fears that the upcoming elections on December 7 could be flawed are untenable because the system it operates is airtight.

Deputy EC Commissioner in charge of Corporate Services, Dr Eric Bossman Asare, said because the electoral system the EC is following is firmly grounded in law, a flawed election is impossible.

“You can never have a flawed election the way our system operates. When you look at the current C.I. [Constitutional Instrument] we are operating with, it talks about a Regional Collation Officer who will be in charge of the results. The EC Commissioner is the Returning Officer for only the Presidential election.

“Then when you go to the constituencies, the Returning Officers there are in charge. So, the Chairperson, being the Returning Officer for the Presidential election, before the Chairperson will have access to the results all the constituencies, the regions have seen it,” he said.

Dr Asare made the comments on a current affairs programme on Joy News in response to the issues raised by the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) about the credibility of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary polls.

John Dramani Mahama had said at a press conference in September that events that characterised the compilation of the voters register in June points to polls that may not be credible.

Although the EC responded to the comments by the leader of the main opposition party at the time, on the current affairs programme on Joy News, dubbed The Probe, on Sunday, October 25, Dr Bossman Asare said the concept of a flawed election is alien to the systems adopted for the upcoming polls.

“When people talk about flawed elections, I think that they are only imagining something,” he said.

He said the C.I. that the EC is mandated to adopt emphasises transparency from the registration process to the voting process.

“So when you look at it, flawed elections cannot be part of us,” he said.

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Legal Practitioner, Samson Lardi Anyenini, has said the five aspirants disqualified by the Electoral Commission could serve prison sentence if found guilty of forging official documents.

According to him, the disqualified aspirants could serve a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.

“If the decision of the Electoral Commission is charging them with forging of official documents, then they are looking at a maximum of 10 years imprisonment if they were found guilty. But if the decision was to charge them for forging other documents, then they are looking to a maximum of 3 years in jail,” Joy News quoted the lawyer in its publication on October 22, 2020.

Mr Anyenini added that aside from the imprisonment, the parties who have been found guilty will not be able to contest as presidential aspirants any longer as the constitution requires that you must first be qualified to be a Member of Parliament.

“Now if they were found guilty, what that means is that they will not have the opportunity next time to contest. Because to be qualified to be a president, the constitution requires that you must first be qualified to be a Member of Parliament. The constitution, again says that you are not qualified to be a Member of Parliament if you have been convicted of certain crimes such as fraud, dishonesty, and even questions of moral turpitude.”

The Electoral Commission on Monday disqualified five of these aspirants from contesting the December 7 polls, citing breaches on their forms.

Kofi Koranteng, Marricke Kofi Game, Akwasi Addae Odike, Kwasi Busumbru, and Nana Agyenim Boateng were those disqualified.

The Election Commission said the elections management body will file an official complaint to police against the failed presidential aspirants for allegedly forging supporting documents to their nominations forms, leading to their disqualification.Disqualified aspirants could serve up to 10 years if found guilty of forgery – Samson Lardi Anyenini

Legal Practitioner, Samson Lardi Anyenini, has said the five aspirants disqualified by the Electoral Commission could serve prison sentence if found guilty of forging official documents.

According to him, the disqualified aspirants could serve a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.

“If the decision of the Electoral Commission is charging them with forging of official documents, then they are looking at a maximum of 10 years imprisonment if they were found guilty. But if the decision was to charge them for forging other documents, then they are looking to a maximum of 3 years in jail,” Joy News quoted the lawyer in its publication on October 22, 2020.

Mr Anyenini added that aside from the imprisonment, the parties who have been found guilty will not be able to contest as presidential aspirants any longer as the constitution requires that you must first be qualified to be a Member of Parliament.

“Now if they were found guilty, what that means is that they will not have the opportunity next time to contest. Because to be qualified to be a president, the constitution requires that you must first be qualified to be a Member of Parliament. The constitution, again says that you are not qualified to be a Member of Parliament if you have been convicted of certain crimes such as fraud, dishonesty, and even questions of moral turpitude.”

The Electoral Commission on Monday disqualified five of these aspirants from contesting the December 7 polls, citing breaches on their forms.

Kofi Koranteng, Marricke Kofi Game, Akwasi Addae Odike, Kwasi Busumbru, and Nana Agyenim Boateng were those disqualified.

The Election Commission said the elections management body will file an official complaint to police against the failed presidential aspirants for allegedly forging supporting documents to their nominations forms, leading to their disqualification.

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Political marketing strategist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, Dr Kobby Mensah, has said that the position of flagbearers on ballot papers play a role on how Ghanaians will vote.

According to Dr Kobby Mensah, being on top makes it easier for voters to decide easily rather than the middle as voters tend to play with their ballot in between.

Speaking on JoyNews, “Studies show the position of the ballot matters. When you are in the middle of the pack, there is a tendency that people could play their ballot in between.”

“Being at the top of the pack helps because it is at the eye level. Among floaters or middle ground voters, top or bottom of the pack is a preferred choice,” he added.

The Electoral Commission of Ghana led by Jean Mensa has officially conducted the balloting process for qualified presidential aspirants and political parties for the upcoming December 7, 2020.

The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be on top of the ballot paper in the December 7 election.

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Presidential aspirants who filed their nomination to contest for the December Elections have commended the Electoral Commission (EC) for putting in place the process to ensure free, fair and transparent general elections.

They said the Commission had been open and receptive to their concerns despite the fact that they had come up against challenges in the filling of their nomination forms.

Madam Akua Donkor, Aspirant of Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) praised the Election Management Body, for restoring the right logo of the Commission, which was in line with all state institutions.

“This is the right logo for the Commission. It is the same being used by institutions of all state institutions and I did not understood why it was changed. The Police, Military, Ministries, Judiciary, Embassies among others are using the same logo why must the past EC administration change it,” she quizzed.

The General Secretary of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Alhaji Mohammed Frimpong, indicated that petty administrative lapses in the electoral process should not be over-dramatised.

Speaking after the submission of the presidential nomination forms of the flagbearer, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, the General Secretary said the EC should be allowed to work.

“For the first time, the Commission took the trouble to give us the checklist and it falls within our understanding that disagreements within our institutions should not be overdramatized as if Armageddon is going to fall on us,” she said.

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

The Electoral Commission (EC) has explained that copies of the final new voters register should be ready by November 11, 2020.

The EC is hoping that copies of the register would be made available to all political parties and candidates by that time.

The Director of Elections at the EC, Dr Serebour Quaicoe said this in a radio interview with Accra based Joy FM monitored by Graphic Online on Tuesday evening [October 6, 2020].

Last week, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for instance raised concerns that the final register was not ready, yet aspirants have been asked to file their nomination forms this week – October 5 to October 9, 2020.

What happens if someone assumed to be a registered voter endorses an aspirant’s nomination forms and it turns out that the said person does not have his name in the final gazetted register, the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia for instance questioned in a radio interview.

The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has also urged the EC to ensure that the final register is given out to all parties ahead of time.

Reacting in the radio interview, Dr Serebour Quaicoe said the EC plans to give the register out to the parties one month to the elections.

“We could have even given them out earlier but because we should finish with the transfers and special voters compilation before we can give the register out,” he said.

Source: Graphic.com.gh