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All erroneous presidential and parliamentary ballots printed for the Volta and Ahafo Regions have been destroyed by the Electoral Commission (EC).
On Thursday, November 21, the demolition occurred under the watchful eyes of the Police Service, the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), independent observers, and political parties.
The action comes after the EC announced, via Samuel Tettey, its Deputy Chair of Operations, that ballot papers for these regions had been found to have inaccurate serial numbers and had to be reprinted.
Prior to this, on Sunday, November 16, the EC was able to destroy the plates, extras, and scrap that were used to print the flawed ballots.
Fred Tetteh, the EC’s Deputy Director of Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation, emphasized in a media engagement that the destruction was required to maintain the electoral process’s integrity.
“We came here for a purpose, an exercise that we made you aware of. And at this point, you can testify to the fact that the ballot papers that the Commission discarded based on defects have been destroyed,” he said.
With some already sent to the regions, he promised the people that only ballots that were correctly printed would be used for the elections in December.
“The Electoral Commission is going to use the ballot papers that are going to be printed, which have been printed, some have been sent to the regions – that’s what we are going to use for the December elections,” Mr Tetteh added.
Mr. Tettey noted that officials from political parties were there to supervise the process and that the exercise was not meant to favor or disadvantage any political party.
The data and the comprehensiveness of the procedure were verified by representatives of the political parties and other observers. A certificate of destruction was also signed by the parties, and copies were given to each of them.
The EC hopes to reaffirm its dedication to openness, equity, and the integrity of the elections in December via this initiative.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
