Ghana election run-off – ballot papers ready

Ballot papers to be used in the December 28 presidential run-off are to be released by the printing firms to the Electoral Commission (EC) on Saturday.

The EC said immediately after taking delivery of the papers, it would release the required number to the centres where special voting was expected to be held on Tuesday, December 23 for members of the security agencies, the media and others.

The Director of Elections, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, told the Daily Graphic that on the ballot papers the presidential candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, would maintain his number one position, while Professor John Evans Atta Mills would automatically move up from the third to the second position.

Mr Arhin said five printing houses were printing the ballot papers locally and expressed the hope that delivery would be prompt on Saturday.

On the other materials such as indelible ink, among others, he said everything was on course and that the EC did not anticipate any problem in that direction.

Mr Arhin said the Commission had also heeded to the request for more polling stations.
He said at polling stations where there were more than 2,000 voters, “we will split them into ‘A’ and ‘B’ to allow for shorter queues and faster voting”.

During the December 7 general election, long queues were seen at many polling stations and that forced many to stay in the queues for longer hours, while at other areas voting time was extended from the 5 p.m. closing time for more than two hours.

Mr Arhin said the EC had taken note of all the hiccups that occurred in the last elections and had done its best to remedy them to ensure a smooth run-off.

Source: Daily Graphic