Jean Mensa – EC Chairperson
The Electoral Commission (EC) may on Wednesday, October 14, organise a balloting session for Presidential Aspirants, who may sail through the EC assessment criteria.
At the close of filing of nominations on Friday, October 9, a total of 17 presidential aspirants have put themselves up to contest for the presidential election in December 2020.
Three of the aspirants are hoping to go as independent candidates when cleared by the EC, while 14 are aspirants from political parties.
The independent aspirants are Alfred Kwame Walker, Kofi Koranteng and Carl Asare Morgan.
The rest are President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party, Christian Kwabena Andrews, of the Ghana Union Party, Brigitte Akosua Dzogbenuku of the Progressive People’s Party, John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress and Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party.
The others are; Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings of the National Democratic Party, Hassan Ayariga of All People’s Congress, Ivor Kobina Greenstreet of the Conventions People’s Party, Henry Herbert Lartey of Great Consolidated Popular Party, Akwasi Addea Odike, of United Progressive Party and Kwasi Busumbru of People’s Action Party.
The rest are Nana Agyenim Boateng of the United Front Party, Percival Kofi Akpaloo, Liberal Party of Ghana and David Asibi Ayindenaba Apasera of the People’s National Convention.
Depending on the decision of the Technical and Information Technology Committee’s recommendations, the Commission may not organise the ballot but go by the ‘first come first serve’ mode to place candidate on the ballot paper, the source also disclosed.
According to GNA source, the Commission has over the years, used either the balloting or when aspirants filed their nominations forms to determine their positions.
The source said the Committee was at the tail end of the work and might disqualify some of the aspirants due to different signatures on both the voters’ register and the nomination forms, which raises questions as to the legitimacy of those signatures.
The next process after sorting out the positioning on the ballot would be the printing of the ballot papers.