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The Electoral Commission (EC) has described the accusations made against him by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the Commission overprints the voting ballots as misleading.
According to the EC, “this is false and we ask the public to ignore this falsehood.”
On Sunday, the NDC had alleged that the Commission was secretly increasing the number of printed ballots above the prescribed five percent, to help the ruling party rig the December elections.
They claimed that Assembly Press, one of the contractors that printed the ballots, was secretly printing more ballots on the blind side of party agents who were overseeing the process.
However, the EC says that the main opposition party’s claims are malicious and only seek to create tension.
In a press release, the EC explained that the Commission was not acting against standard practice, as the NDC commercialized it; in fact, the EC stated that it was printing more than five per cent, as has been the practice in dealing with cases such as invalid ballots.
“This has been the practice since 1992 and the current Commission has not changed this policy. In line with this policy, all Printers were ordered to print the 2020 ballots in excess of 5% for the thirty-eight thousand six hundred thirty (38,630) polling stations throughout the country, ”said the Commission.
They stated that “since 1992, the ballot papers for the presidential and parliamentary elections have been printed in pamphlets of 10, 25, 50 and 100 for all polling stations,” so that for an electoral district of 90 voters it cannot be printed a 90-vote booklet for that exact number, that is, 90 voters.
“In the above scenario, you cannot print a brochure for ninety voters. A one hundred (100) ballot booklet will be provided. After adding a contingency of five percent (5%) to the ninety (90) voters, the number of ballots would increase to about ninety-five (95) ballots. However, given that this Electoral Board can only be provided with a brochure containing one hundred (100) ballots, there will be an excess of five (5) ballots, ”explained the CE.
According to the EC, this is the situation that affects several polling stations and therefore cannot be avoided as it is impractical to print separate brochures for each polling station based on the number of registered voters at that particular polling station.
“This has always been the practice and the NDC is well aware of this,” the Commission stated.
Provision of ballot serial numbers to political parties
The EC further denied allegations that the Commission had “blatantly” refused to provide political parties with the serial numbers of the ballots, as claimed by the main opposition party, which was standard practice.
According to the EC, “The Commission has never provided the political parties with the serial numbers of the ballot papers. The Commission cannot generate the serial numbers of the seventeen million (17 million) plus the ballots. “
They explained that the serial numbers of the ballots have always been generated by the Printers and given to the Commission and the Political Parties after each batch of printing is completed.
“After the printing of the ballots from each polling station is completed, the ballots are packaged according to the serial numbers. The serial numbers are then provided to the Commission and political parties to allow tracking and follow-up of the distribution of the ballots.
“The packed / bagged ballots are sealed both by the Electoral Commission and by the Political Parties. In fact, each Political Party affixes its party stamps to the packed ballot papers. Political parties keep track of all stamp numbers on each packed ballot. The packing of the ballots is done in the presence of all the Agents of the Political Parties.
“On Election Day, political parties certify all serial numbers on every packed ballot before the ballots are opened. Serial numbers are also recorded on the Survey Statement before voting begins, ”explained the EC.
Using Assembly Press for 2020 Ballot Printing
The EC, regarding the NDC turmoil regarding the use of Assembly Press for the printing of the 2020 ballot, said that the NDC must be assured that the printing process will be effectively monitored by participants of the the various political parties and security agencies to avoid any manipulation that may compromise. the process.
They said: “It is well known that the Assembly Press is a State institution that at all times is headed by persons appointed by a sitting government. It is also a well-known fact that the NDC Designated-led Assembly Press printed the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2012 and 2016 ballots.
“Regardless of who heads the Assembly Press, the effective monitoring and participation of the Political Parties and Security Agencies in the Commission’s printing processes makes it impossible for any printing company, whether state or private, to manipulate and compromise the printing process ”.
In conclusion, the EC declared that “the transparency and openness of the process makes it impossible for any printing company to manipulate and compromise the process, since all printing is done with the fixed gaze of the agents of the political parties”, therefore Ghanaians should be sure.
